[wybo]

Am I the only one here who can see the fallacy in this?

Government does not have unlimited power. Government is accountable, mostly democratically controlled power. It is, if there is a proper democracy (which there is in much of Western Europe, not the US so much) the exact opposite of unlimited power.

Anarchy on the other hand is (slightly) diffused unlimited power. And also power only dependent on wealth. And without anyone to protect the (financially) weak, without any laws or government-backed justice, this diffused power is much worse than anything a well-functioning democracy would come up with...

[oleganza]

Look into your own words and try to decipher them one by one:

"Government is accountable, mostly democratically controlled power."

What is "government" in practice? What does it mean to be "accountable" in practice? What is "democratically controlled"? And which "power" are we talking about?

Here's my rough take on deciphering this statement:

1. Government - a group of people that can employ violence which is disallowed for some other group of people. Some number of people outside the government will look at some violent action and think it's totally justified. But if the same action is done by non-government person, they will feel bad and call somebody to prevent it.

2. Being accountable: bear the consequences of one's actions. If a dude kills a dude, he will be kicked hard and put in special house for the rest of his days. If, however, government kills a dude, there are many sorts of laws (pieces of paper) that describe to public (stupidly watching from outside) that certain killings are okay. Like, if you are in uniform and in Iraq, you can kill people left and right (under strict "protocol" of course).

Does the existence of some sort of "protocol" written by some lunatics make killings "controlled" and "accountable"? How nuts is that?

Here's a test for your sanity: if you like your democratic government, I have nothing against it. I will never ever intervene and disallow you to pay to your senator/city hall/party/etc. I respect your right to choose the way to live. Will you give me the same respect to have my own opinion and to act on it? I don't want to support any government action. I don't want my money to be taken via taxation or inflation. Will you allow me to act on my beliefs peacefully just like I allow you?

[wybo]

1) (Quite unclear what you mean by this statement) However government does much more than employ violence. In fact most government does has nothing to do with violence. Such as provide infrastructural and social services, stipulate laws, and negotiation on our behalf. What makes government different from a corporation is that in government it is one person one vote, while in the private sector value and power is not grounded in persons as humans, but is tied to individuals wealth and (usurped) power.

2) I was talking about proper democracies (like Denmark, Sweden, and the Netherlands). I dislike the war in Iraq (and similarly ill-conceived wars) as much as (if not more than) you do.

As for the sanity check; Government only works if everyone in a certain community / market / area complies. Ceterus paribus if I am taxed and you are not, and you would be allowed to sell in the same market, I will be driven out of business. Similarly, if you hire educated employees, or even benefit of services provided by them, but did not pay taxes to fund their education, you are leeching on the state and I (& other citizens) have a right to (part of) your profits... we call this tax; and it only works if we all pay our fair share.