"The State"* is the term used to encompass the entirety of the concept of externally-imposed, coercive government, whether a small, local town council, or a global empire.
It is (obviously) composed of individuals who might or might not be enthusiastic about committing acts of evil on their own, but by working together under the myth of the legitimacy of authoritarianism, they can do nothing else. There is nothing good about "The State". It is, and always has been, criminal.
*Capitalized in order to ridicule The State's empty self-importance.
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Mr. McManigal, I assume that you are familiar with and have read "Our Enemy the State," by Albert Jay Nock. To paraphrase one of my favorite quotes from that book: The people of today (written in 1935) look to the State much as the people of 1500 looked to the Church. And it's only gotten worse since.
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