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comment by cgod
cgod  ·  4595 days ago  ·  link  ·    ·  parent  ·  post: What are the benefits of government that cannot be replicated?
The irreplaceable benefit to society that government performs is generally known as civilization.

    Taxation is the price which we pay for civilization, for our social, civil and political institutions, for the security of life and property, and without which, we must resort to the law of force.
Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr.

Taxation is one of the foundations of government, the quote may be just a bit of the path, but I think it's pretty close to the heart of the matter.





b_b  ·  4595 days ago  ·  link  ·  
I think Holmes is quite correct. We need only to look to places on the globe where there is no government to speak of for examples. There aren't very many places where this is true, but these come to mind: Somalia, Tribal parts of Afghanistan and Pakistan, large regions of central Africa. Each is a place where the law of force is the law of the land, and none is a place I have a strong desire to live.
Laurelai  ·  4594 days ago  ·  link  ·  
Wrong, those places are run by warlords and tribal leaders, IE a form of government.
b_b  ·  4594 days ago  ·  link  ·  
Yes, that's exactly what you're advocating. Until a civilized government is formed, tribalism reigns; it was like that from Cro-Magnon times until city-states started forming. Even if a group project is assigned in school, a de facto leader will emerge from the group, even if there are only three or four people. Its natural social order to lead or follow.

You may think that tribalism can only happen in areas that lack a central government and lack education, infrastructure and wealth. But education, infrastructure and wealth result directly from (good) government. Universities, the main keepers and creators of knowledge, even private ones, would instantly fail instantly if their government support dried up. Only governments can aggregate the capital necessary to create infrastructure. The richest men in the world aren't worth a hundredth what the US government spends in single year.

Anarchists, communists and libertarians all have lack of government as their central tenet of religion, but each has a different view of what their post-government would look like. Not all can be correct.

Laurelai  ·  4594 days ago  ·  link  ·  
I dont think you are really understanding what im trying to say, i dont know if im not wording it correctly.
b_b  ·  4594 days ago  ·  link  ·  
I'm basically familiar with anarchist principles. Any theory of governance or economics that ignores human nature is not simply flawed; its incorrect.
Laurelai  ·  4594 days ago  ·  link  ·  
Its also human nature to kill people who are different than us, yet we have laws against murder. I admit that putting such theories into practice would require a degree of human evolution, however i think its the best option among a lot of bad ones.