When Does Social Organization Become Government?

Economics Political Theory
1

Something that has confused me about libertarians is this notion that if one removes government people will organize themselves. I don’t disagree with the idea that people will organize into societies on their own but at what point do such organizations become government?

It seems to me that it could be rightly argued that without government, friends, neighbors and family would come together in some kind or tribal structure to defend eachother. I’ve heard libertarians claim that the native Americans had no government, for instance. This type of social order may well be more fulfilling to the individual then the governments most people live under today but I would still consider that to be a type of government, albeit less organized and closer to its constituents. Perhaps I just don’t understand what is meant by government but I cannot think of any way that multiple people can organize without establishing some kind of pecking order or decision making procedure for the group, which is the essence of government.

I would appreciate it if you could help clear this up for me. Thank you.

2

That’s contingent upon how you define government. I like Hoppe’s definition:

“A government is a compulsory territorial monopolist of ultimate decision-making (jurisdiction) and, implied in this, a compulsory territorial monopolist of taxation. That is, a government is the ultimate arbiter, for the inhabitants of a given territory, regarding what is just and what is not, and it can determine unilaterally, i.e., without requiring the consent of those seeking justice or arbitration, the price that justice-seekers must pay to the government for providing this service.”

So here we see the key element of government is its compulsory nature. Voluntary organization is not government (according to this definition).

3

This answer before mine is great. The key element is consent, and voluntary participation. The notion that libertarians want small government is incorrect.

4

Huh? There are tons of libertarians across the country that want small government.

5

Those are minarchists, not libertarians.