An unsentimental look at government, from the subway philosopher at theburningplatform.com:
Regardless of ideology or political system, few subjects of gov.com in any land appear to be reasonably free. Leaders, the public faces of state power, are said to be at fault for such shortcomings, based on the media-driven perception that a given government is primarily a reflection and/or creation of the current figurehead. However, on closer inspection, government can more reasonably be said to be the sum of its parts, principally its bureaucracies, many of which are possessed of significant and abusive regulatory power.
After all, Chinese, Russians, Jews, Cambodians, and others did not simply off themselves en masse at the behest of dictators – it takes a big-stick bureaucracy, or several, to get the job done. Unfortunately, the evils of government aren’t limited to totalitarian states but are inherent qualities, essential and necessary elements of the beast in any of its variants.
– Black’s Rule 1 of government: All government is evil.
