Posted by
Andrews on Friday, August 08, 2008 1:11:13 PM
It is amazing how few people truly understand government. Not the details, or the specifics, but the very basic nature of government itself. It may be because of all the liberal talk of "programs" and "coming together" and "assistance" and such, it tends to white wash the nature of the states. Still, I would think at least a few people would recognize the basic truth.
The truth is that government, at root, is nothing but the right to use force. Think about it, what distinguishes government from any other organization or association? Charities give away money, universities fund research, businesses sell and buy goods. The only activity the government undertakes which is unique to the state is the use of force.
It is more obvious if we look at a minimal state, nothing but police and army and police. The police and army are clearly uses of force. And the courts, though they seem to be something different, are, in the end, also distinguished by a use of force. After all, if all you want is a decision in a dispute, you could ask your uncle or neighbor, what the courts provide is the ability to enforce those decisions, even using force if needed. Of course, they may use force to jail you, rather than killing or harming outright, but confining someone to jail is still done by force, or the threat of force.
Of course, now that the state has expanded into areas where it was traditionally excluded, it has taken on many functions which have nothing to do with using force, and that is why it does so poorly. You would not hire a commando team to babysit your children, and likewise you should not use the state to babysit, or even pay for babysitters.
Why not?
Because, government is a tool, and a very specific one. It is the embodiment of the private right of self defense and defense of property. While we still have that right individually, we have also, as a group, deputized the state to also exercise that power. We have not given it up, as you cannot surrender rights, we can defend ourselves, but the state is allowed to do so as well. That is why the state provides police and armies and criminal courts.
Likewise, the civil courts are yet another embodiment of private rights being assigned to the state. When, without government, we feel another has violated a contract, we resort to physical force to force compliance. In the state, we do not do so, but delegate that power tot he courts, so they can, in a mor eimpartial and orderly way, decide who is in the right and then enforce those rulings. It keeps us from the more disorderly solution of individually trying to enforce our claims through force alone.
But, as I have said before, tools serve specific purposes, and to try to use them for something else is to invite problems. And the government, being a tool based on the application of force, is no exception. When we try to use it for job training or day care or regulating food prices, we see just how poorly it performs. The state is not the right tool for watching children or producing food. It is a finely tuned device with the sole purpose of using force to protect citizens and their property, to use it otherwise is to ask for trouble.
And perhaps if a few more people saw that difference they would understand just why the state is such a bad solution for so many problems.