The Definition of a "Government"
I was just on the Free Talk Live message board, where I came upon a thread about the definition of the term "government" (see title link) that I thought was pretty cool. They are SO incredibly cool, in fact, that I've republished a few of the best ones here:
GOVERNMENT:
- To be GOVERNED is to be watched, inspected, spied upon, directed, law-driven, numbered, regulated, enrolled, indoctrinated, preached at, controlled, checked, estimated, valued, censured, commanded, by creatures who have neither the right nor the wisdom nor the virtue to do so. To be GOVERENED is to be at every operation, at every transaction noted, registered, counted, taxed, stamped, measured, numbered, assessed, licensed, authorized, admonished, prevented, forbidden, reformed, corrected, punished. It is, under pretext of public utility, and in the name of the general interest, to be placed under contribution, drilled, fleeced, exploited, monopolized, extorted from, squeezed, hoaxed, robbed; then, at the slightest resistance, the first word of complaint, to be repressed, fined, vilified, harrassed, hunted down, abused, clubbed, disarmed, bound, choked, imprisoned, judged, condemned, shot, deported, sacrificed, sold, betrayed; and to crown all, mocked, ridiculed, derided, outraged, dishonored. That is government; that is its justice; that is its morality.
(From General Idea of the Revolution in the Nineteeth Century translated by John Beverly Robinson and published by Freedom Press in London, 1923) - "Government is not reason, it is not eloquence - it is force. Government is like fire - a handy servant, but a dangerous/fearful master." -George Washington
- The Correct Anarchist's Version: "Government is literally force. It violates everyone's rights daily, and people seem to regard it as a necessity. The belief in the need for Government runs deep, as most men are barbarian, and enjoy dominating others, and exploiting their wealth 'for the common good'. The anarchist is only being intellectually honest when concluding that Government is unnecessary, and evil."
- "Government is an avenue by which the immoral and ambitious men of the world initiate long-term tyranny and widespread abuse to compensate for ther short dicks and narrow spines." -Me (The Phoenix)
1 Comments:
Government is not always started in pursuit of power, but the thirst for domination often takes over. However, the initial intentions of setting up a state is sometimes to create freedom through majority-rules consensus, not to create a heirarchy of power. A government is only a set of individuals in power. How they got there and what they can do once they are in power should be determined by the voting populous. Only under those circumstances is government legitamate, and when those provisions are in place a government can be a positive institution.
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