On Sat, 9 Dec 2000, James A. Donald wrote:
A state is a monopoly of legitimate force.
That's redundent.
What makes a state a state is that the policeman can whack me, and I cannot whack the policeman.
No, it's that the other people in the society won't accept your whacking the nice oinkdroid [1]. Why? Because they figure if you'll whack the oinkdroid what will stop you from whacking them? Nothing. ____________________________________________________________________ Before a larger group can see the virtue of an idea, a smaller group must first understand it. "Stranger Suns" George Zebrowski The Armadillo Group ,::////;::-. James Choate Austin, Tx /:'///// ``::>/|/ ravage@ssz.com www.ssz.com .', |||| `/( e\ 512-451-7087 -====~~mm-'`-```-mm --'- -------------------------------------------------------------------- [1] There are differences of opinion on the degree of this boundary. In some states it is as James describes, you don't strike the officer period. On others, such as the US, it is possible to strike the officer justifiable if they are themselves acting illegally and putting your life in danger. Being a police officer is not absolute defence against self-defence.