Martin Rewrites: Anatomy of the State, Part 2

What the Government Is

Humans are born with infinite needs and desires. We shelter and feed ourselves using natural resources and the energy within each individual, one must use more energy and resources to do so. When we apply our ideas to resources, we create property, a natural extension of the individual who created it. The individual owns the results of his or her own actions.

Additionally, humans have learned that trading ideas, resources and property allow for substantially better living conditions for everyone involved. This spontaneous order is the only natural way for any individual and/or group to better their lives without violating others. This idea that humans have the right to keep or freely exchange the products of their labor is called the free market.

The second method of obtaining resources is somewhat easier, but can be risky. By taking resources from others, the individual does not have to be productive in any meaningful way. It only requires a knowledge of violence and coercion, and the willingness to use them against others. This can be a dangerous way to obtain resources, as others may try to stop you from taking the products of their labor. This is theft, also known as "the political means."

Since we've determined that the free market is the natural path for humans, it should be equally clear that theft is contrary to human nature. It is the nature of a parasite, and does not add to the overall wealth of humanity; it subtracts from it. 

When people use theft to obtain resources, they send economic signals to productive people to either hide their excess resources, or stop producing more than is needed. In this way, the thief destroys his own resource supply by removing the incentive to produce excess goods to trade with other people. It is an unsustainable, and unnatural. 

Since those who use the economic means are known to protect their resources, taking goods from others uncertain business, and can sometimes be dangerous. To reduce this risk of retribution, predators have set up a system that allows for a relatively orderly, systematic channel to obtain private property.

We can now better answer the question of what is government. It is simply a group of people who use the political means to obtain wealth in an organized fashion. This group uses violence (or the threats thereof) to take goods from productive people within a given geographical territory. 

Historically, all governments have arisen from violence, starting with the first tribe that realized it would be more productive to let a conquered tribe continue to live and produce goods, than it would be to loot and murder. This way, the conquerors can demand regular tributes, providing for a steady, secure means of plunder.

Let us take this anecdote as an example. In the valley of "Ruraland," a group of outlaws manages to physically control the area. The leader makes himself the "President of the Independent Government of the Valley of Ruraland," proclaims his men to be "federal leaders," and holds elections for local government representation. Thus, a new nation and a new government is born.

Disclaimer: This is my attempt at simplifying the book "Anatomy of the State," written by Murray N. Rothbard. This is not a plagiarized writing; it is my interpretation, and is paraphrased from the writing. For the full text, please click here: Anatomy of the State.