Hence the newspaper, or the few bucks a month to subscribe to the cable news channel.
If the resulting defense is far superior, a minor free-rider problem might be a small price to pay.
Which is why I strongly encourage you to pay up, for obvious reasons ;)
Anyway, how long can the problem remain minor? How long before the system falls apart, either because everyone wants defense, like me, but nobody wants to pay, like me? Or, alternately, how long before resentment turns into coercion, putting you right back where you started from?
On the contrary, if there were such a thing as a "private army," it wouldn't remotely provide the same services as it does now.
Well, that's fine, but you just got done telling me how a private army would be so much more than just soldiers with guns, so which is it?
The market encourages specialization and division of labor; the government prefers vertically-integrated, state-controlled enterprise. Today the army isn't just solders; it's also FedEx, US Air, IBM, Sysco Food Services, Hilton Hotels, GM, AAMCO, tech school, and a host of other things rolled into one.
Those two propositions seem rather contradictory. Considering how the government "prefers vertically-integrated, state-controlled enterprise", I don't suppose it's worth noting that neither FedEx nor IBM are a part of the government, despite the absence of a libertarian state - they are private actors, contracting to provide the citizenry with necessary services. So the advantage to then versus now is...what, exactly? Other than the increasing complexity of requiring FedEx to negotiate with a dozen domestic armies instead of one, of course.
Instead of sending the Abraham Lincoln to provide tsunami relief, Wal*Mart would ship supplies via FedEx, and it would absolutely, positively, be there overnight.
Riiight. Of course, the reason the military can do those sorts of things, such as providing disaster relief to troubled areas, is because the military has lots of men with guns who are willing and able to impose their collective will upon the uncooperative. Wal Mart and FedEx can do what they do because the existing military currently takes on that task for them - in the absence of that, who will provide for such things? Wal Mart's Special Forces division? FedEx paratroopers?
If enough people don't pay, that the various suppliers go out of business, then nobody gets any defense. People, not being stupid, won't permit this to happen. Free riders will undoubtedly exist, but to suggest that everyone would stop paying is silly. Rather, various market pressures would be brought to bear on the free riders. For example, you seem to have missed the part where I told you that you and your free-rider ilk will be paying hellacious homeowner's premiums, unless you provide proof of a valid defense contract.
Well, that's fine, but you just got done telling me how a private army would be so much more than just soldiers with guns, so which is it?
No, emphatically not. I said "private defense," not "private army". There's a big difference. Today, the military maintains a separate delivery infrastructure at tremendous cost; tomorrow, FedEx and UPS will play an important role in defense. Namely, they'll deliver supplies, weapons, and all sorts of other things, intact and on time. That alone would cut "defense" expenses by a couple billion every year.
Similarly, instead of military transport, folks would travel commercially. "Defense" workers would go to the same hospitals as anyone else--which, if you've ever seen the average VA hospital, is nothing short of divine mercy. Training would be provided from independent educational facilities--the same ones used by Pinkertons and ordinary citizens interested in self-defense. Not only would ordinary citizens be better trained, but "defense" training would be done more cheaply and more effectively. And so on.
Riiight. Of course, the reason the military can do those sorts of things, such as providing disaster relief to troubled areas, is because the military has lots of men with guns
*Cough*! (New Orleans!) *cough*! The national guard accomplished little or nothing. Most of the aid that was delivered, was delivered by Wal*Mart. That's why I pulled their name out of a hat.
As for "troubled areas," I was hoping you'd make that point, which is why I baited you repeatedly in hopes of provoking it. The answer is that various sercurity agencies would provide escorts, but only when really needed. Today the army expends almost as much resources delivering things to Kentucky as it does to Korea. The beauty of private security, you see, is that anyone can hire some if they want to.