[Avodah] anarchy/libertarianism

[Zev Sero]

kennethgmiller at juno.com wrote:
> One of the seven laws of Noach is to set up a system of courts to enforce
> justice. Our 613 laws include laws about which crimes get what punishments,
> and how the courts should work. How could one even begin to think that this
> is consistent with anarchy?

An anarchy would still have courts, deriving their authority either
from the mutual consent of the parties, or from the delegated right of a
victim to self-defense. EY had courts long before it had a government.
"Biymei shfot hashoftim."

T613K at aol.com wrote:
> Being an anarchist would not be compatible with what the Torah seems to 
> consider the primary purpose of government -- maintaining order.  It 
> says in Pirkei Avos, "Pray for the welfare of the government, because 
> without it, people would swallow each other alive."

That is a question of metzius; just because R Chanina Sgan Hakohanim
believed it doesn't mean it's true.  Anarchists believe that it isn't
true.  Also, Pirkei Avos is "milsa dachasidusa", not halacha.


> The absolute 
> must-haves of a government are a military defense force to protect the 
> country from external enemies, and a police force, to protect people 
> from each other.  The government also has to provide a basic 
> infrastructure, like roads and water.  There also has to be some kind of 
> taxing arm to raise the funds to pay for the necessary functions.

There is no need for government to provide roads or water; both can and
have been provided by private people, where government has not prevented
them, either directly or by driving them out of business.  It may also be
possible to finance a truly minimal government without a taxing arm, or
even without anything we would recognise as taxes at all.

-- 
Zev Sero                      The trouble with socialism is that you
zev at sero.name                 eventually run out of other people’s money
                                                     - Margaret Thatcher