: Anton Sherwood wrote:
: > Occasionally? What is government, if not the threat of force?
Robin Helweg-Larsen writes
: Honestly, I intended to lurk for a while before butting in on other
: people's discussions... but... :-)
Sorry about that. <g>
: That could be applied to all social interaction. If you attack me,
: you do so under the threat that I may defend myself;
You call an attack a "social interaction"?
: even if you only insult me, you do so under the threat that I may
: react violently. Government is no worse inherently than people.
It does at least two things that you, in your example scenarios, don't:
it decrees rules for interactions between *others*, and it requires
others to contribute to its own efforts.
: I don't disagree with your view of government, but it is a very cynical
: view, and loses validity if you don't apply as rigorous a cynicism to
: your own dealings with others.
Um, okay: next time I use or threaten force against someone who's
minding his or her own business, I promise to take a very dim view of it.
Anton Sherwood *\\* +1 415 267 0685 *\\* DASher@netcom.com