U.S. warships protected us today in the South China Sea. We’re supposed to believe that, not just because of a Chinese threat to keeping the sea lanes open, but because protection of us is what the U.S. does and why it exists. The act of the U.S. moving U.S. ships through the contested waters is justifiable, not as something that the State does for itself, but as an act done for us Americans. The State is supposed to exist and act for us. That’s its justification. This premise falls apart on examination, however. The basis of the State, its justification, … Continue reading Today the U.S. Protected Us in the South China Sea, or Did It? (REVISED)