And yet... look, what keeps that company you're paying for protection from deciding to enforce that protection? Nothing. They'll be the warriors, they'll decide everyone should pay, and they'll beat it out of him.
I'd also argue that, if one person is enjoying protection but other people are paying for it he's stealing that service from his neighbors. He's forcing them to pay more for something they all, including the non-payer, want.
Government isn't "divine" or magical. It's societies' answer to mitigating problems that crop up within groups of people. There will always be people who want to take advantage of others, as well as people hurt by thoughtlessness and even accidents.
These can be simple disagreements too. Take a neighbor who builds their fence on your property line. Without a government who do you go to in order to get your property back? And independent mediator? What keeps your neighbor from bribing him?
Right now, you'd go to the government and laws keep your neighbor from bribing him.
Let me ask you a question. What keeps that neighbor from bribing the government? Laws? Sure, but look at all the cases where government officials went back on the laws they said they upheld and whatnot.
No one is saying Rose's solution is going to be all peaches and cream. There would be abuses and problems like how there are abuses and problems now. The difference is, the abusers and problem makers are no longer centralized into a group that enough people believe has the right to do anything.
Simply put, the difference between the mafia and the government is simply that no one believes that the mafia has any right to extort and kill people. But when the same actions are applied to government, suddenly, it becomes ok. Goose and gander sort of thing you know?
@the-zone12:
First of all, why does it seem like I can never reply after a couple levels of the threading?
Now, on to the actual reply...
The difference between the mafia and the government is that the people have a say in how the government operates. If the mafia doesn't think you paid your dues, they break your legs. If the government doesn't, you get a trial. If mafia dues are too high, that's your problem. If taxes are too high, elect fiscal conservatives to get the taxes lowered. If the mafia don thinks you insulted him somehow, he can summarily kill you. If you talk shit about Obama all day long, the government can do nothing.
Moreover, what about foreign governments? Forget the local stuff... if we have no government and no army, what prevents Canada from taking over and becoming your ruler without even giving you the benefit of Democracy?
I'm going to guess you'll say civilian army, but without government funding, training, leadership... well, they'd get creamed.
"Government...It's societies' answer to...problems..."??? No, govt. is not the answer to problems of society. It was created to be. It failed. Here, and everywhere, every time. Obviously you have not been victimized by LEOs and in court. And you ignore all the stories, all the videos on Youtube. I grew up in the ghetto where LEOs seldom came, and gang violence was common. After getting out I still saw tyranny and chaos, but by men in uniforms/badges. In the Navy I saw it again with the SP & my captain. From the lowest authority to the highest, I see it.
"Right now, you'd go to the govt...."? I have. I got burned every time. I finally learned in my 50s. I don't call 911. I am armed. Now at 74 I wonder why it took me so long. When are you going to open your eyes and stop defending the biggest gang in the world, the US Empire?