What is the State? it's a question which most people have not considered in depth. I was forced to come to grips with what exactly the state is when I first read a short essay by Murry Rothbard called 'The anatomy of the State' I am unable to present the level of explanation Rothbard offered in the magnificent essay so I'll simply link to it. To put it simply, the state is a group of thugs who make demands of you at the point of a gun. The masses have been tricked into believing they are self governed though the miracle of democracy.
The one word that founders such as Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Paine, John Adams, and others feared more than monarchy, was democracy. They rightly understood the insanity that results from mob rule. While and individual is often able to think critically, and make good decisions, the masses have a track record of self destruction. Consider a riot: virtually no individual within a rioting mob would engage in that sort violence were he not a part of the group. Reason and thought are overruled by guttural war cries within a mob. Even those who know the course of action is despicable very often go along with it. This is what makes Ron Paul so astounding, during his time as a representative in congress he made more sole dissenting votes than all other representatives combined. He resisted the mob in the name of principle, a unique act indeed.
We are not the government, the government uses the consent of the masses to maintain their monopoly on violence, all organized crime must operate on this principle. Making examples of individuals who stand up against the thugs to instill obedient fear in the heart of the masses. Consider what democracy accomplishes, within a pure democracy 51% could vote for the extermination of the 49%, if we are the government then would that mean the 49% committed suicide? Neither are the 51% the government, consider the current congress. The present approval rating is 13.8%. Any yet each one of these members of congress won their democratic election with a majority, and yet now their actions are rejected by 79.6% of the country. We are being used by an Aristocratic ruling class to consent to our own slavery. Democracy is a rebellion mitigation technique and nothing more. It changes nothing, Monarchies require the consent of the masses to maintain control just like democracies do, but revolution is more likely in a monarchy since there is no other outlet for the energy of the people who desire to bring down their rulers. Elections serve nicely as this pressure valve without requiring the ruling class to make any concessions. The evidence of this is clear in the office of president. The federal government have been engaged in extensive wars and foreign intervention since 1913 and it hasn't stopped or slowed down since. Every once in a while a candidate will run on peace, but once elected (peace candidates usually win) they seem to become more militant than the president before, both Bill Clinton, and Barack Obama are examples of this. Nothing changes, the top contributers of both candidates are usually the same people.
Lew Rockwell; a political, economic, and historical scholar and author once said the state is much worst than a crime syndicate, because at least the crime syndicate is selling something that people would willingly buy, i.e. drugs, guns, liquor. But the State is forcing you to buy at gun point products that will likely kill you anyway i.e. the U.S. destructive foreign policy, obamacare, or regulation limiting free market ingenuity.
It's critical that we realize our situation with sober thought if we are going to have a future for ourselves or future generations.
Recommended reading:
Chaos Theory,
The Menace of the Herd
Our Enemy the State
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