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Comment by mhh__ | Hacker News Reader

This is true in the abstract but adds nothing to the discussion if you actually had to make a decision.

Lumping everything into "Government" and not government is partly why American society is completely broken in some regards.

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As long as every branch of "Government" has the authority to escalate to forcible imprisonment for noncompliance with their policy, I will be equally mistrustful of all of them.

Sure but sometimes you just want to get the pothole outside your house fixed, which requires being able to construct (even for just the short term, privatise that road if you) systems and incentives that work for real problems, which in turn requires people to (regardless of trust) get their arms dirty which I think is unlikely if you have everyone trying to propitiate to the ghost of Ronald Reagan.

Systems of incentives are just fine, as long as they're voluntary. My objection is with forced participation in these systems. If you want to get that pothole fixed, and a few of your neighbours don't consent to contribute, then we should be able to deal with that in a way that doesn't involve handcuffs and prison sentences.

Do you live off the grid and grow all of your own food? If not, then the "government" keeps you alive. You don't have to give them a free pass on everything but you can't pretend it serves no purpose but to oppress you.

I'm not pretending that at all, all I'm suggesting is that the government be entrusted with the least amount of authority it requires. I also think that the model for our collective action should be much more consensual, rather than enforced.

Does every branch of government have the authority to escalate to forcible imprisonment for noncompliance with their policy?

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