On Wed, Jun 26, 2013 at 6:29 PM, Barry Roberts <[email protected]> wrote: > Wait, in one paragraph did you just prove that self-defense is a > necessity, and in the next paragraph endorse government monopoly on > force?
No. Defense against force (but not necessarily *self* defense) is necessary, and in Hobbes's social contract we (the theoretical "we" that Hobbes is discussing, not literally you and I) agree to give up our personal right to use force in order to enjoy the freedoms that a society give us. > The munchkin wrangler responds more eloquently than I can: > > http://munchkinwrangler.wordpress.com/2007/03/23/why-the-gun-is-civilization/ I agree with his point. People who want to eliminate guns are idiots. A world without guns is a world where violence is "owned" by young males. Guns democratize violence. (This is a good thing.) That said, this point is not really related to the philosophical question of why a government's use of force can be considered legitimate. -Dan /* PLUG: http://plug.org, #utah on irc.freenode.net Unsubscribe: http://plug.org/mailman/options/plug Don't fear the penguin. */
