CryptoAnarchy: What's wrong with this picture?

[jim bell]

At 02:12 PM 4/28/96 -0700, jamesd at echeque.com wrote:

>
>> When you cut off someone's air supply, even the nicest, gentlest
>> person will go into an unrestrained, murderous frenzy.  I expect
>> something similar will happen to even the most "civilized" governments
>> within the next few years, as popular crypto begins to cut off their
>> money supply. 
>
>False on two counts:   
>
>First "frenzy" is exactly the opposite of what the 
>government needs to stay in one piece, to continue 
>to be a government.
>
>Secondly, when you cut of someones air supply, 
>they do not necessarily defend themselves.

While that's obviously an imperfect analogy he gave, I think it's inadvertently 
instructive for an unobvious reason:  Governments are  _supposed_ to be 
products of the will of the people (at least, in so-called "freedom-loving" 
societies they are).   If that's the case, then if society decides that 
governments should be reduced or even eliminated, those governments should 
have no objection.  To whatever extent they DO have an objection, it can 
only be because the government is no longer representing the population as 
it was supposed to do, but has started to represent the vested interests of 
people whose livelihood depends on that government.  And to whatever extent this is 
happening, that's all the more reason to get rid of that government.

Unfortunately, that's exactly the position we find ourselves in today.

Jim Bell
jimbell at pacifier.com