What is a state? (was Re: Chaos Theory)
Jim Choate
ravage at EINSTEIN.ssz.com
Sat Dec 9 08:53:37 PST 2000
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 at ssz.com
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[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.
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