[wtcactus]

They actually should be able to, for the most part.

The original idea of state exists to ensure 3 things:

- Protection of the territory of the state

- Protection of the integrity of the individual citizen

- Protection of the private property of the citizen

This is why people started organizing in societies and allowing the existence of a ruler class. These 3 things.

You will always need some amount of military to be part of the state. But what most countries waste today (the USA for instance), is pornographic. The state should only be allowed (by taxation) enough military to defend their territory, not to exert control over the all planet like the USA wants to do.

EDIT: Yeah, I should have guessed the part of the "integrity of the individual citizen" would, of course, be twisted. No, it's not protection of the individual from disease of from his own stupidity or lack of ability. It just means the role of the state is to ensure the citizen is protected from deliberate harm from another individual.

[Eddy_Viscosity2]

I would say that in the list 'Protection of the integrity of the individual citizen' is something that a NHS would serve. Individually, people want to know that if they get injured or sick they can be taken care when they can't for themselves. Everyone is at risk of these things. Society as an organism also benefits from having resources dedicated to repair of its components in the same as it does in defense of external threats. 'Protection of the territory of the state' also can be served by an NHS because of the damage and danger of highly infectious diseases.

[wtcactus]

> 'Protection of the territory of the state' also can be served by an NHS because of the damage and danger of highly infectious diseases.

Let's be honest here. You know the NHS (and various equivalents across the world) go way, way beyond this.

And I'm not even against the existence of a public funded health service within limits. But this is just phonographic. In my country (and from what I've read in the NHS it's relatively similar), in the past 10 years we added more than 90% medical doctors and nurses to the national NHS. The budget for the local NHS increased by 72% in that same period.

And the service has become absolutely terrible and now people (the ones that only benefit from it but don't pay the costs) are asking to raise taxes even more to put even more money into the problem.

Naa, enough is enough. I don't want to support this crap.