Why Do We Let Other People Tell Us What to Do?
Lame Theories of Government
We have been disappointed with political ideas and theories of government. They are nothing but scams, justifications, and puffery. One tries to put something over on the common man… the other claims it was for his own good… and the third pretends that he’d be lost without it.
Most are not really “theories” at all… but prescriptions, blueprints for creating the kind of government the “theorist” would like to have. Not surprisingly, it is a blueprint that flatters his intellect and engages his imagination.
A protection racket based on circular reasoning
But it does not answer the critical questions: Why do we let other people tell us what to do; are we not all equal? What is the purpose of government? What does it cost, and what benefits does it confer? You may find these questions have drifted far afield from our usual fare. But they’ve been on our mind.
We’re coming up on a major election in the U.S. Several men have come forward offering to take charge of the U.S. government. Maybe it would be worth wondering what it is that they are taking charge of. And since our daily letter is free, we feel entitled to write whatever we damned well please.
Government is a fact. It exists. It is as common as stomach gas. It is as ubiquitous as lice and as inescapable as vanity. But what is it? Why is it? And what has it become?
Born in Conquest
We know very little about the actual origins of government. All we know – and this from the archaeological records – is that one group often conquered another. There are skeletons more than 100,000 years old, showing the kind of head wounds that you get from fighting. We presume this meant that “government” changed. Whoever had been in charge was chased out or murdered. Then, someone else was in charge.
Barbarians carefully deliberating post-conquest policies
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