Most people seem to believe the State is necessary for a functioning “society” and have accepted its existence as something that is normative to every culture, past or present and it seems incomprehensible that there is any alternative at all. But it would be a mistake to assume that all societies have existed as “States” historically speaking.
It’s not my purpose to give a history lesson here, you’ll have to do that research on your own. What I do want to do here is to simply point out some things I believe most people find objectionable that only exist because the State exists. So let’s do some “Cause and Effect” analysis.
THE STATE: “…the State is that organization in society which attempts to maintain a monopoly of the use of force and violence in a given territorial area; in particular, it is the only organization in society that obtains its revenue not by voluntary contribution or payment for services rendered but by coercion. While other individuals or institutions obtain their income by production of goods and services and by the peaceful and voluntary sale of these goods and services to others, the State obtains its revenue by the use of compulsion; that is, by the use and the threat of the jailhouse and the bayonet.3 Having used force and violence to obtain its revenue, the State generally goes on to regulate and dictate the other actions of its individual subjects. One would think that simple observation of all States through history and over the globe would be proof enough of this assertion; but the miasma of myth has lain so long over State activity that elaboration is necessary.” From Anatomy of the State – by Murray Rothbard
The State – Cause | Definition | Effect |
Power to Tax | Taxation is theft – Under threat of violence, what belongs to one is taken by force and then dispersed by the appointed overlords throughout the bureaucracy for themselves and to use however they see fit. | Imprisonment or fines for not letting the government steal your money – less money in the economy – money disbursed to corrupt politicians and their favorite cartels – Malinvestment: Government doesn’t operate on a profit loss basis therefore they invest in many programs and subsidise businesses that would otherwise fail in the free market – negative psychological effect of having one’s possessions and or income taken with no possibility of retribution against the all powerful state – making everyone else poorer and less free. |
Power To Create Armies and Make War – (War is the health of the State, wrote Bourne) | State’s rulers, who have a monopoly on the use of force and taxation, declare war on other States whose overlords have a monopoly on the use of force and taxation in their geographic area. | Just war can only be defined as defending persons or property against an aggressor. Preemptive war is immoral and unjust. | Loss of life, not only of combatants but of civilian lives since in modern warfare massive collateral damage is virtually unavoidable – Extreme drain on the economy as money is siphoned off to support the Military Industrial Complex – Possible Conscription which is tantamount to slavery – Unintended consequences of interventionist policies causing blowback and never-ending conflict with other nation-states – making everyone poorer and less free. |
Power to make Law and Law Enforcement (In Theory they could provide “Peacekeepers” that are there to “protect and serve but this is rarely the case) |
The only legitimate laws are those that are in relation to aggression wherein an individual or group of individuals aggresses upon the person or property of another person or group of persons who are not aggressing upon them. | When only the government makes law their propensity is to make laws that favour one group or another. Many laws are created that are regulatory and primarily benefit and create monopoly cartels – Punishment of people for victimless crimes and or acts pertaining to their own bodies, such as seatbelt laws that are enacted for the benefit of insurances companies – There are no checks and balances as every branch is a part of the same tree and will tend to be more benevolent to law breakers of the same tree – With no competing agencies of law enforcement there is no incentive for police to actually protect and serve but instead to enforce arbitrary statutes creating revenue for the state -making everyone else poorer and less free. |
Power to Create Currency and set monetary policy via a Central Banking System | Monopoly of money creation and control of both supply and interest rates | Creation of money out of thin air (i.e. fiat currency, paper money with no intrinsic value) and the artificial setting of interest rates causing numerous problems, e.g. the Boom-Bust business cycle; inflation to infinity by inflating the money supply not allowing the economy to liquidate malinvestment causing stagflation – The funding of the Military Industrial Complex for the purpose of Empire building and endless social programs that create massive debt causing the need to raise taxes ever more, none of which is possible without a monopoly to counterfeit – making everyone else poorer and less free. |
Power to Make Treaties and Create Tariffs (Protectionism) | Created in the name of “Free Trade but It’s always the opposite of Free Trade | The “…impeding free enterprise and creating monopolies at an international scale…” – A form of taxation on consumers seen in higher costs of consumer goods –favors producers who are politically well connected – Further increases government’s power over business and the economy – making everyone else poorer and less free. |
The Power of State | Oppression | Revolution – Hopefully not to institute another State and wind up right back where we started |
So what’s the alternative you may ask?
Well, I’ll have more on that in a forthcoming post but if you’ve checked out my site at all it should be obvious that the alternative is a Libertarian society which may still leave you in the dark so check back regularly or you can subscribe above and I’ll let you know when I have a new post. My posts are not so regular. 🙂