Pete and Henry's weapon ownership discussion

[Pete Zicato]

Originally Posted by henry quirk

I guess I'm a minarchist, or extreme libertarian...but you can just call me Henry.

As I see it: the only real reason to have 'government' is to encourage people to mind their own business and keep their hands to themselves. Sure, gov (just hired hands, proxies) should act as final arbiter in contract dispute, and provide a certain degree of resource management, but -- mostly -- gov should leave people alone, and strongly encourage folks to leave other folks alone.

That is: gov, on all levels, should be minimal, distant, mostly silent, and narrow.

I don't think that's enough. Most people, left to their own devices will do whatever they think they can get away with. Cynical, I know. And I never thought I'd end up this way, but there you are.

I think there's a lot of things that should not be 'left alone'. I don't think laissez faire works. I think the EPA is sorely needed so that we don't wind up with an uninhabitable world. I think that rules are needed or we'll have chaos.

If I have some time, I'll make up a complete list of what I think government should and shouldn't be responsible for.

Originally Posted by henry quirk

And we, the 'governed' should never let our servants, the 'governors', forget they're just employees with lent and limited power.

That, we agree on.

[henry quirk]

"Most people, left to their own devices will do whatever they think they can get away with."

"If the natural tendencies of mankind are so bad that it is not safe to permit people to be free, how is it that the tendencies of these organizers are always good? Do not the legislators and their appointed agents also belong to the human race? Or do they believe that they themselves are made of a finer clay than the rest of mankind" -Frederic Bastiat

#

"I don't think laissez faire works."

Absolutely it works...if you *beware.









*as in 'buyer (and seller) beware'

[henry quirk]

"I'll make up a complete list of what I think government should and shouldn't be responsible for."

Here's mine (if it wasn't obvious from what I've posted up-thread):

Minimal Courts (of last resort).

Minimal police (to protect and serve, not control).

Minimal military (primarly to safeguard the border).

Minimal resource management (cuz sumbody gotta change out the toilet paper rolls).

Beyond that, gov oughta do nada (and shouldn't even be spoken of, thought of, as 'government', but instead as 'proxies' 'employees', 'public servants').

[BigV]

Originally Posted by Pete Zicato

snip--

I think there's a lot of things that should not be 'left alone'. I don't think laissez faire works. I think the EPA is sorely needed so that we don't wind up with an uninhabitable world. I think that rules are needed or we'll have chaos.

If I have some time, I'll make up a complete list of what I think government should and shouldn't be responsible for.

--snip

Go crazy.