I often see people complain that a society based upon the ZAP (or any other nice libertarian or anarchist principle) won't work because the bad guys won't cooperate. Face it; the bad guys don't cooperate with the system in place now. Not only that, but they use the system to their advantage. They often get elected to public office, or put on a badge, where they can prey on society with much less personal risk. This would not be possible in a ZAP-based society.
The reason I like these principles; the really great thing about them, is that they don't depend upon the cooperation of the bad guys. That's right, the bad guys become irrelevant. Can your proposed system achieve that?
Don't forget that the good people, the ones who would cooperate with such a just system, vastly outnumber the bad guys. The morally neutral people, those who will go along with whatever the social norm happens to be, will tip the odds in our favor even more.
The bad guys will either cooperate or will get killed quickly in a truly just society based upon the ideas that initiating force is wrong, and that the rule applies to EVERYONE equally. A few might even decide it is easier to become honest people rather than risk annihilation at the hands of a universally armed society that no longer has to fear retribution from the state when defending life and property.
.................................................
That is very insightful, I had never really thought about it like that.
ReplyDeleteVery well put. This is one of the most important points about libertarianism vs. the status quo. Statism empowers the bad guys and encourages the worst kind of behavior. A society based on the zero aggression principle will do the opposite.
ReplyDelete