I’m reading Lysander Spooner’s “No Treason, The Constitution of No Authority.”
In it Spooner makes his case abundantly clear. The Constitution of the United States of America has no legitimate, voluntary binding effect on the people who live here. If you are interested in his arguments, go read it. It’s short.
What he doesn’t understand is that governments only coincidentally have voluntary adherents. Governments rule by force. They always have and always will.
Additionally, governments will always arise. The anarchists and libertarians don’t understand this. They ALWAYS arise.
In a state of anarchy a powerful man comes to the fore. The dude is normally a warlord. An upstart. Eventually this man consolidates resources, land, and power. He’s the new king.
He’s not interested in working at regular jobs. His job is war and wielding power. In order to continue to hold his territory and power he grants the right to farm, use land, water, and other resources to his “subjects.” In exchange for the use of the resources he demands payments. Taxes.
In the best case scenario his children are being educated by the church. The real church.
Eventually his oldest son takes over the kingdom. He inherits his dad’s property.
Being educated by the church, the new king has a notion of the good. By farming, working, producing, his subjects are taking care of his resources. In fact, by doing this work, the subjects are among the kings resources. As result, the kingis VERY interested in improving his subjects in virtue.
As the subject increase in virtue, so does the kingdom increase.
All the while, this king rules by force. He obtained his power by force, he retains it by force.
His subjects did not consent to his government. But neither did we.
A representative government has no responsibility to it’s subjects. It is irresponsible to the subjects.
The subjects ARE the responsibility of the monarch. Should he act otherwise, he won’t be monarch long.
The monarchy is the best way to get a virtuous ruler in place and for the subjects to reap the benefits of this.
The system of representative government is designed to prevent truly virtuous people from obtaining power.
