Myths/government is violence - Revision history

Woozle: category

2015-06-11T22:35:02Z

Woozle: some rewriting, and an example of the claim

2015-03-12T01:09:47Z

some rewriting, and an example of the claim

Woozle: for now, the Issuepedia article cites references but does not debunk (links back here for that).

2015-02-02T14:57:51Z

for now, the Issuepedia article cites references but does not debunk (links back here for that).

New page

==The Myth==
[[File:15 - 1.jpg|thumb|Freedom is slavery, war is peace, ignorance is strength, and government is violence.]]
The argument seems to be that government must constantly do bad things in order to govern, therefore government is inherently evil.
==The Reality==
Government is not ''inherently'' violent, however, unless you count the coercive restraint of abusers (a key function of any society) as violence.

While many governments are the proximate cause of much violence, most governments prevent more violence than they cause. A good government would go to great lengths to avoid initiating violence – but it is an acknowledged truth that unequivocally "good" governments are a bit like utopias: we can imagine them, but they are probably not possible.

It is also important to note that no system proposed as an alternative to government could possibly avoid this kind of violence, as refraining from coercing abusers would allow the abusers to commit their own violence.

The only logically possible way in which an accusation of violence would be a valid argument against the idea of government, or even against any particular form of government, is to offer a system which is demonstrably less violent in actual practice (rather than just in theory).
==Links==
===Reference===
* {{issuepedia|Anti-governmentism/definitionally violent}}

← Older revision		Revision as of 22:35, 11 June 2015
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	{{hdr/myth\|Government is inherently violent.}}		{{hdr/myth\|Government is inherently violent.}}
	[[File:15 - 1.jpg\|thumb\|Freedom is slavery, war is peace, ignorance is strength, and government is violence.]]		[[File:15 - 1.jpg\|thumb\|Freedom is slavery, war is peace, ignorance is strength, and government is violence.]]

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-==The Myth==
+{{hdr/myth|Government is inherently violent.}}
 [[File:15 - 1.jpg|thumb|Freedom is slavery, war is peace, ignorance is strength, and government is violence.]]
-The argument seems to be that government must constantly do bad things in order to govern, therefore government is inherently evil.
+==Myth==
-==The Reality==
+===Example===
-Government is not ''inherently'' violent, however, unless you count the coercive restraint of abusers (a key function of any society) as violence.
+"Government is founded upon the initiation of violence." &ndash; Tim Rieker, [https://plus.google.com/u/0/113630203692968581887/posts/1KcVx82qdZs comment on Google+]
-While many governments are the proximate cause of much violence, most governments prevent more violence than they cause. A good government would go to great lengths to avoid initiating violence &ndash; but it is an acknowledged truth that unequivocally "good" governments are a bit like utopias: we can imagine them, but they are probably not possible.
+No alternative to government could possibly avoid this kind of violence, since refraining from constraining abusers would allow the abusers to commit their own violence &ndash; so this criticism cannot be used to argue against the need for government.
-It is also important to note that no system proposed as an alternative to government could possibly avoid this kind of violence, as refraining from coercing abusers would allow the abusers to commit their own violence.
+The only logically possible way in which an accusation of violence would be a valid argument against the idea of government, or even against any particular form of government, is to offer a system which is demonstrably less violent in actual practice (rather than just in theory).
-The only logically possible way in which an accusation of violence would be a valid argument against the idea of government, or even against any particular form of government, is to offer a system which is demonstrably less violent in actual practice (rather than just in theory).
+Even so, most governments still prevent more violence than they cause, and eliminating government would only increase the overall level of violence. The only way to decrease violence overall is to improve government.
 ==Links==
 ===Reference===
 * {{issuepedia|Anti-governmentism/definitionally violent}}