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Government good-tyrants bad

Lonecowboy

Well-known member
On a number of occasions I have heard objections that those who adhere to the liberty movement are "radicals" who "hate the government." We are accused of engendering anti-government sentiments in our involvement in the political sphere whether it is through our continual rejection of legislation which will increase the size of the federal government (Obamacare, Disclose, etc.) or in our incessant support of measures which will result in shrinking the size of the federal government (End the Mandate, Audit [End] the Fed, etc.). We sustain crazy anti-government individuals for political office and work against those, Republican and Democrat alike, who seek to use the government to further their good intentions.

The objections and criticisms, however, are unwarranted. Liberty lovers, regardless of political affiliation or philosophical creed, are not anti-government. Whether Republican, Democrat, Libertarian, anarcho-capitalist, minarchist, what have you, the liberty-lover believes in government, upholds government, and indeed encourages more and more government.

Government is a means of efficiency. It is a vehicle whereby the individual is able to accomplish more in less time than he could alone. Government is a positive result of individual experience and evolution, and derives from lessons learned from mistakes made. Government is a necessary component of progress. Government causes to endure what would otherwise disappear and disintegrate. In short, government is good.

Private Government:

Good government is part of everyday life. Look at where you work. Chances are you work for a company. A company is simply a private government put together by free individuals who determined that in order to provide the products or services demanded, a government was needed to carry out that end. Your company's government is likely in the form of a board of directors and consists of a president, CEO, CFO, COO, directors, managers, and other managerial officers. Your company's government is tasked with ensuring productivity, economy, and growth. When problems arise, your company's government is obligated to deal with those problems and find solutions.

You may attend a religious denomination such as a church, synagogue, or mosque. Your church is governed by a private government, which may consist of a board of directors, clergymen, cardinals, bishops, ministers, rabbis, etc. Each governmental office in your religion has a fiduciary duty to act in the best interest of the organization.

Good government can also be seen in volunteer and charitable organizations such as food banks, humanitarian organizations, and clubs. Each such organization must be governed or it could not survive. It is the private government of such organizations that creates the atmosphere for charity and for providing goods and services to the needy. Now certainly individuals can provide for such needs on their own, but the individual's efforts are magnified through such organizations and it is the organizations' governments which foster the environment for efficiency and productivity.

Can it be said, then, that the idea of government can ever be bad? Unlikely. The idea of government is a positive one and one of which the human family should be proud. Neither can it be said that liberty-lovers are anti-government. Indeed, the liberty-lover must be the most pro-government advocate of any political or philosophical creed. Why then, do many label us anti-government?

Anti-Coercion, not Anti-Government:

The answer to the preceding question lies in a mistaken equality that foes of liberty attribute to government and State induced coercion. The promoter of freedom abhors coercion of any kind, whether from an individual or the State, but the reality is that the State has a monopoly on the "legal" use of coercion. "The ordered organization of coercion we call the State." Ludwig von Mises, Socialism: An Economic and Sociological Analysis (Indianapolis, Ind.: Liberty PressLiberty Classics, [1922] 1979), pg. 280. Even the State, however, can be good, if you remove the element of coercion.

The current political revolution that began a couple of years ago is not one so much anti-government as it is against the State's habitual and increasingly coercive acts against its stewards, the people. Further, the widespread opposition from the liberty movement to bail outs, healthcare "reform," tax hikes, etc. is not the consequence of anti-government sentiment, it is the result of people who are tired of being forced to give up their property and liberty for the benefit of someone else.
Mankind has fought against coercion since the beginning of time and our struggle today is no different. So long as mankind exists, there will be those who wish to subject others to their will by force, and likewise, there will be those who struggle against such tyrants.http://www.campaignforliberty.com/article.php?view=1145

Coercion (pronounced /koʊˈɜrʃən/) is the practice of forcing another party to behave in an involuntary manner (whether through action or inaction) by use of threats, intimidation or some other form of pressure or force. Such actions are used as leverage, to force the victim to act in the desired way. Coercion may involve the actual infliction of physical pain/injury or psychological harm in order to enhance the credibility of a threat. The threat of further harm may lead to the cooperation or obedience of the person being coerced. Torture is one of the most extreme examples of coercion i.e. severe pain is inflicted until the victim provides the desired information
 
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