[PatrickHenry]

My point is not that we need a government in order to have culture, but that we need to extend the notion of individual rights into the cultural sphere in order to have culture.

I donno. Suppose my neighbor likes to watch old Flintstones reruns, and he keeps the volume up loud. He has his culture and I have mine. This is really a property rights situation. The best answer for us sensitive types is probably to have a lot of property surrounding our homes. If we want to save money on such things as large gated estates, we accept the tradeoff of obnoxious neighbors.

[annalex]

he keeps the volume up loud. He has his culture and I have mine. This is really a property rights situation.

If he disrupts your Bach with his Flintstones then it's an offense regardless of property. You can mitigate it with property, but the offense is there.

[Doctor Doom]

The best answer for us sensitive types is probably to have a lot of property surrounding our homes.

Or become good neighbors, or have neighborhood associations and property covenents. In the absence of laws requiring people to behave themselves, people are more likely to voluntarily seek harmony with their neighbors than not.

I need never get to know you right now if you move in next door. If you put up something tacky on your lawn or play your music too loud, I can just call the police and have them hassle you for breaking noise or zoning laws.

Absent that option, it becomes incumbent on me to seek harmony and good relations between us.

It's one more way in which the state erodes the quality of human life and human interaction.