The first governments arose out of the need for mutual defence. Over time, particularly in the last century, governments have taken on more and more roles. The state now tells you how often to exercise and spies on your bin bags.
But whether you agree with the state’s new functions or not, it cannot be denied that one of its core functions, before anything else, remains the protection of the people from domestic and foreign enemies. If the state cannot do that then it is well and truly failing.
Even a small state can do this. All but the most fervent of anarcho-capitalist should agree that this protection is the one core duty of the state above all others. There is no reason why a strong government must also be a big government.
One of the defining characteristics of the modern state is its monopoly on violence. It is now time to assert that monopoly.
John Phelan
The first governments rose out of one man's need to make sure the people he was fleecing and using weren't taken over by another wolf.
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