The state, as an essentially parasitic enemy of voluntary society, institutionally incentivizes parasitic behavior in its members. When it limits its parasitism, the motivations underlying that restraint are almost entirely pragmatic raisons d’état, and not a principled recognition of individual rights. The state will generally predate as much as public opinion will let it get away with. When it restricts its predations, it generally does so to avoid running into mass resistance (regarding this, see my other essay, “Peacefully Staring Down the State”) and to preserve its public perception of legitimacy. Talk of “liberty” and “principle” by those within the state … Continue reading Libertarian Reformers Within the State?