Dr Eric Crampton: The great equalizer

Samuel Colt invented the revolver and a slogan to go with it. “God created men, Col. Colt made them equal”. The revolver was ‘the great equalizer’. Anyone could learn to shoot. That levelled the playing field for those otherwise preyed upon.

You might think Colt’s slogan a relic. But there’s a modern analogue. Think about a different kind of power asymmetry. One that’s bureaucratic rather than ballistic, persistent rather than point-blank, and seemingly impossible to break.