Are society and community the same thing as The State?

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Our previous Mental Lever showed that statists wrongly assume The State is the same thing as the country.  Statists make a similar mistake when it comes to society and community. Statists assume that society and community are the same thing as the State. But how could that possibly be true? For one thing…
Societies and communities are always larger than the state institutions that rule them. This suggests that a State is merely a part of a society, or a community. More importantly…
The State’s use of initiated force is inherently antisocial and anti-community.

  • Society and community are words that describe peaceful, voluntary relationships
  • The State operates on the opposite principle, using threats of violence to compel submission.  

Libertarians believe that to optimize society and community we must reject initiated force. We must feel empathy for others, and respect individual conscience. We must use persuasion and peaceful cooperation.

Libertarians believe governments must obey the Zero Aggression Principle. Governments must not initiate force. They must only use force defensively. 

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By Perry Willis & Jim Babka

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