Small government was Re: [extropy-chat] EMP Attack?

[Samantha Atkins]

On Apr 18, 2005, at 6:25 PM, Joseph Bloch wrote:

> Adrian Tymes wrote:
>
>> One can't defeat government on one's own.
>
> I think that's the problem right there; the idea that government is 
> something to be "defeated".
>
> With all due apologies to the ultra-libertarians who are known to 
> inhabit this list, I believe government has legitimate functions 
> beyond enforcing contracts and national defense (at least until the 
> advent of the PostHuman era, when every individual could and will have 
> the capabilities of a modern nation in terms of defense and 
> production), and from a practical standpoint the view is even grimmer 
> (libertarians habitually get under 3% of the votes in most places in 
> the USA, and I daresay the fact that there are outright socialist 
> governments in other parts of the world points to the lack of 
> libertarian success overseas).
>
> Would I like less government? Sure. Would I like to pay less taxes to 
> fund less government? Of course. Do I want to "defeat government"? 
> Nope, and people who do are either anarchists, whackos, or (most 
> likely) both. And they most certainly won't succeed.
>

America was started by such anarchists and whackos.  The government as 
it exists today is a deadly blight on society that makes slaves and 
cowards of us all.  Even after consuming half or more of our wealth it 
run debts that have us al in hock for generations and screams for more. 
  I am sorry this sad state of affairs scares you seems to scare you so 
much that you lose your considerable eloquence and resort to name 
calling and fear.

> And I want to succeed. If we don't, we're toast.


We will not succeed by ignoring great evil sucking away our substance 
and threatening to bar the way.   This level of evil must be defeated 
or at least bypassed if we are to have a chance at a future.

- samantha