"Patriotism is a kind of religion; it is the egg from which wars are hatched." ~ Guy de Maupassant
Government is Imaginary?
"However, while a group is nothing without individuals, individuals become "more" within the group. That "more" may be positive or negative."
(1 vote)
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My assessment (well, the it's the caution of Delmar England to be exact) is not that government is imaginary -- "it" is an abstract. England words it better than I:
The Lies of Language
One often hears, “Government initiates force,” or something similar. “Government” does not initiate force. “Government” is the initiation of force. It is each governmentalist who does the initiating of force. Positing “government” as a godhead, as an acting entity is a psychological escapism to deny the fact of individual coercive actions. Among other denials, it hides the fact that voting in a political election is an act of violence.
England goes on at length to insist that when "anarchists" and "libertarians" treat abstracts as living, breathing beings they psychologically insulate the perpetrators of wrongdoing from culpability.
Thus "the government" can remain the that invincible, victorious paper tiger that "it" has always been.
Sam
"Government doesn't exist apart from bad people willing to do what they believe government is empowered to do"
True, but only partially so. Frighteningly, government also coopts a lot of very good people who believe that what they're doing is the good and right thing, some who will even gladly risk or even lay down their lives because they think that they're doing the right thing.
These can be the most dangerous individuals of all (other than the sociopaths-in-chief who manouver these folks around like pieces on a chess board); those willing to risk their lives for what they are led to believe is the 'common good'. I was one of those myself for most of my adult life (20 years as an Army Military Policeman), and it scares me to think where the Superman/Captain America/Christ complex could have led under the wrong circumstances.
Those people should, in my opinion, be pittied, but also treated with the utmost caution. There's no one more dangerous than a well-meaning person who's willing to give their life up for a 'good cause'.