The case for eliminating government – 1

government - we can do way better

This is the first in a seven-part series calling for an end to governments as a way to run human civilizations.

Two organizations I’m aware of work to improve government. There are more, I’m sure.  One, based in the UK, published a document outlining why and how government needs to embrace the growing phenomena known as “social action in the UK”.  I read the report and enjoyed its buoyant perspective of government’s ability to change.

Another, based in the US, promises to make at least the Oregon state government more efficient, allowing it to, among many things, collect about 2 billions US dollars in unpaid taxes.  No matter what side of the aisle, that seems a laudable goal.

Yet I cringe at the prospect.  Modernizing government offers ample employment opportunities for consultants, think tanks, and wannabes.  We in the US have been trying to modernize our government—and succeeding in many ways—for as long as I’ve been reading.  The most recent and remarkable modernization program came with President Obama’s White House win.

I’m not sure how much has been invested by other countries to modernize their governments.  But the US has certainly invested a crap-ton of money in “modernizing” foreign governments in ways benefitting Western economies and Western business interests.

Rather than modernizing government.  I argue for eliminating government.  No, not for some Anarchistic ideal, or some Randian experiment.  I argue eliminating government for 3 reasons:

  1. Government is not designed to protect your freedom.
  2. Government is easily corruptible and probably has been corrupt since its beginnings.
  3. Government is no longer necessary.

You may be able to refute these claims.  I would wager, however, that people are finding government more a force of oppression than anything else, and people are tiring of the model.  The problem is the lack of viable alternatives. This has been the case in the US since the birth of our nation.  Even in the face of all our grandstanding about American Freedom, equality, and opportunity for all, our nation’s government does little more than perpetuate the ills we face each day.

There was a time when a distinct lack of viable alternatives made the “end government” argument moot. That time has waned.

I will offer a future-looking case for eliminating government in future blog posts.

Consider this an introduction.

 

Photo credit: By Martin Falbisoner (Own work) [CC-BY-SA-3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

3 thoughts on “The case for eliminating government – 1

    1. More people are coming to this conclusion Cathy. It’s still a minority. But that is changing. So cool to realize that all positive change begins with a super-minority (of one).

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