Re: Voluntary Governments?

[solman@MIT.EDU]

> 
> >> > > Imagine if the government stopped trying to force people to
> >> > > join it. Or imagine if they tied decision making power to
> >> > > how much you pay in taxes. The more you pay, the more say
> >> > > you get. After accepting the idea that government is a
> >>
> >> Without the legal monopoly on coercion, this so-called "government" would
> >> be just another service provider, like Safeway or Goodyear or K-Mart.
> 
> [JWS writes:]
> 
> >Well isn't that how its supposed to be? [....]
> 
> No.  The object of government is to limit the freedom of the people it
> governs.  The word is derived from "govern" which means "3. To control the
> actions or behavior of  4. To keep under control; *restrain*" [American
> Heritage Dict.]

Well, yeah. And this is a service. When individuals exercise their
freedoms, they frequently interfere with other people's freedoms. To
resolve this conflict, it is necessary to "control the actions or the
behavior of" individuals such that they don't interfere with each
other's freedoms. So they enter into a contract with each other
under which this is accomplished, but a contract isn't worth the paper
its written on unless somebody enforces it, so they hire a policing agency,
the government. That agency is providing a useful service.

> It would be great if government could be a service provider, or simply feel
> responsible for those it governs--but then it would not be a government any
> longer.

I don't agree with that last clause.

Cheers,

JWS