Another thing that governments do that is not quite the same 'social upliftment' as welfare - build roads, bridges and so on - is already done in many countries by private, profitable ventures with little loss to society. Law enforcement: there are instances where you break your contract, that form the basis of most crimes from non-payment to larceny to even theft, which can be seen as a violation of a social contract to 'pay for what you take'; then there are things which even the most radical would consider plain wrong, such as murder or rape. This distinction is partially acknowledged in the difference between civil and criminal cases. The former, 'civil' cases are best sorted out by an independent and trusted judiciary; a 'government' doesn't, or shouldn't, interfere. In the latter, 'criminal' cases, there may be a need for some sort of 'authorised violence' such as a police force. This is the only part of government that might necessarily require a universally accepted power. The alternative is the utopian, where people are (or are conditioned to be?) too 'good' to become murderers; or the dystopian (as in cyberpunk fiction, or the Wild West for that matter) ruled by the law of the jungle - might is right. Note that this differs from the present situation where while it is true that the power of authority rests in its right to violence, this is in theory approved of by the people - a sort of 'right is might'. Continued... Rishab ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Rishab Aiyer Ghosh "Clean the air! clean the sky! wash the wind! rishab@dxm.ernet.in take stone from stone and wash them..." Voice/Fax/Data +91 11 6853410 Voicemail +91 11 3760335 H 34C Saket, New Delhi 110017, INDIA