[deepsun]

I've heard a UK story (from 19 century I believe), when someone gave a talk about government role in economy, and as example said that if not government, no one would have built lighthouses.

Someone checked that argument, and found out that out of thousands British lighthouses, not a single one was built by government. They all were built by various associations of mariners or traders.

[panick21_]

Check out:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Lighthouse_in_Economics

Ronald H. Coase is one of the most brilliant scientists ever and he just recently died in 2013. He was literally still productive at 100 years old.

Btw, the famous Coase Theorem is actually not be Coase and he didn't like the way it was used.

Here an interview with him just 1 year before he died:

https://www.econtalk.org/coase-on-externalities-the-firm-and...

Here some other interviews from the same podcast about him:

https://www.econtalk.org/wally-thurman-on-bees-beekeeping-an...

https://www.econtalk.org/boudreaux-on-coase/

https://www.econtalk.org/robert-frank-on-coase/