What a Traffic Light Can Surprisingly Signal

Called laissez-faire, Adam Smith’s prescription for less government in the economy relates to an island with no traffic lights.

When We Don’t Need Traffic Lights

Having recently driven in Manhattan (NYC) and now on Nantucket (an island located 30 miles from the coast of Massachusetts), I’ve been pondering the difference a traffic light can make. In NYC, the traffic lights are constant signals from government.…

Why Did the Pedestrian Cross the Road?

In NYC and in Nantucket, Massachusetts, drivers respond to different incentives because Manhattan has traffic lights while Nantucket does not.

How Traffic Lights Relate to Adam Smith

When no traffic lights on the island of Nantucket has created good will among strangers, it also might show the limits of Adam Smith’s laissez-faire.

Adam Smith and Traffic Lights

Located 30 miles from Cape Cod, Massachusetts, the island of Nantucket has no traffic lights. Instead, drivers respond to stop signs, rotaries, and courtesy. More often than not, if a pedestrian, a walker, or a biker needs to cross the…