Posted on 12/29/2004 12:50:20 PM PST by bruinbirdman
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So you're saying government doesn't always seek to expand, and use war as an engine to do so (which, if you recall, was what I actually quoted)?
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"So you're saying government doesn't always seek to expand, and use war as an engine to do so (which, if you recall, was what I actually quoted)?"
I'm saying that the belief that some kind of conspiracy to expand government has been the cause of every war we've been involved in is wrong. I'm also saying that the belief that abolishing government will lead to peace is wrong.
Exactly. This where mainstream conservatives and libertarians part company. We think government should be LIMITED in the extent of its powers and in its ability to affect lives, liberty and property without due process of law. But we don't accept the premise government is inherently evil. In the real world, men are not angels and human nature requires checks and balances on their passions and ambitions. Hence the need for the existence of the state and the establishment of government.
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I also believe that killing and eating small children is a bad thing.
Ludwig von Mises bump -
But do you also believe that government causes otherwise nice people to kill and eat small children?
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