Why Do we need Government?

Posted by ycandrea 8 years, 3 months ago to Government
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I do think we need government to protect us against force. But I have to agree with Mr. Casey: "The violent and corrupt nature of government is widely acknowledged by almost everyone. That's been true since time immemorial." How do you establish a government that does not become corrupt? Please read the article and tell me your thoughts.


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  • Posted by ewv 8 years, 3 months ago in reply to this comment.
    It failed because the dominant ideas changed away from the ideals and values of the American Enlightenment. That happened because of the intellectual influences of the European Counter-Enlightenment with its irrationalism, mainly from Germany, and its collectivism and statism. See Leonard Peikoff's The Ominous Parallels.
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  • Posted by ewv 8 years, 3 months ago
    See Ayn Rand's "The Nature of Government" in VOS. Casey is pushing anarchism based on a false view of the nature of man.

    You don't establish a government that isn't corrupt or doesn't become corrupt in an intellectual vacuum. The government you get and maintain depends on the dominant political philosophy of the culture, which depends on the dominant ethics and accepted ideas of how we can obtain knowledge and the nature of existence and man's relation to it.

    Reform in government, let alone keeping it, is not possible without overthrowing the false dominating ideas of mysticism, subjectivism, altruism, collectivism and statism.
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  • Posted by 1musictime 8 years, 3 months ago
    Maybe protection and maintain the good there before and to continue.
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  • Posted by 8 years, 3 months ago in reply to this comment.
    Well, that's you. I preferred to use "we" as that is the title of the article I wanted to talk about. The same as before.
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  • Posted by $ MichaelAarethun 8 years, 3 months ago
    I had to come back to this one. One Last time. You should ask Why do I need government. We is not in my vocabulary. I learned that lesson a long time ago. We is code for you dogs do as your told and we might throw you a bone.

    The important person is 'I' the full bore egoist.
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  • Posted by 8 years, 3 months ago in reply to this comment.
    Uh..No. Doug Casey is a libertarian philosopher and author. This is his newsletter. Yes, he is a capitalist and an investor. But this article is genuine and asks a good question and has a lot of thoughtful insight on the history of governments. I thought it was an interesting article.
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  • Posted by $ MichaelAarethun 8 years, 3 months ago in reply to this comment.
    Some short verbiage and a lot of advertising for some brokerage investment place. Sorry...that's all I found.
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  • Posted by edweaver 8 years, 3 months ago
    There is a quote that one of our founders supposedly stated that is something like "if men were angels, no government would be necessary".

    Of course, as the article states, government is a relatively new concept who's intent is to protect the people from looters (including the government itself), which is how most civilizations were ruled until the US was established. How to keep it from becoming corrupt is the trillion dollar question that is yet to be answered. We failed that test in America.
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