Yep sounds very academic. I always thought that there was a stong element of "If the citizens can effectively defend themselves against unorganized criminals, then they wouldn't need as much government and might think about defending themselves against the biggest extortion organization of all." After all the USA grew out of revolution. :-)
Actually the hard left overtly and the softer left quietly consider criminals to be “social allies” in Lenin’s words, useful for intimidating the bourgeoisie and far less dangerous than people with uncorrect thoughts.