this post was submitted on 05 Dec 2024
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Seriously though, don't do violence.

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[–] [email protected] 294 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago) (6 children)

If violence isn't a solution why does the government use it?

[–] [email protected] 106 points 2 weeks ago (4 children)

The state is nothing but a monopoly on the legitimate use of violence. To a hammer, everything is a nail. To a state, everything is a target for violence.

[–] [email protected] 20 points 2 weeks ago

The state even sometimes uses violence on itself.

See: Civil Wars.

[–] [email protected] 10 points 2 weeks ago

I figure legitimate in this instance just means they won't have any reason to expect repercussions for their acts of violence.

[–] [email protected] 8 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

The state is nothing but a monopoly on the legitimate use of violence.

Which, ideally, is pretty much how it has to work. The state is, ideally, composed of elected representatives and their appointees. The alternative to violence monopolized by elected representatives is violence distributed to private interests. State monopoly of legitimate violence is not great and I agree with the problems inherent to that, but realistically the alternative seems worse. I'm racking my brain for another system, but I can't think of anything that doesn't devolve to oligarch-led private armies oppressing people.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

state is, ideally, composed of elected representatives

oligarch-led private armies oppressing people.

They're the same picture.

Elections are a venue for competiting oligarchs - US elections are largely just a wealth check - with the bonus that afterwards people feel they've chosen their oligarchs and are less likely to notice that 90%+ of elected representatives only represent the interest of elites.

I do the same thing at work when I need mentally ill people to do what I say. "You can do what I want version A, or do what I want version B, which one?" always works better than "Do what I want!"

I agree that violence management is a very difficult problem with no easy solution. But I don't think giving full control of legitimate violence to the rich is the best solution, which is what a state of elected representatives does.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 2 weeks ago

Still, there's the friction of checks and balances. It's certainly not perfect, far from it, but the alternative is still worse.

[–] [email protected] 11 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago)

Aw man. You're gonna bring the "I like hospitals and roads but not taxes" crowd out of the wood work, claiming governments are just warlords with good PR.

[–] [email protected] 9 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

You’re doing violence to grammar with your “an.”

[–] [email protected] 5 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)
[–] [email protected] 4 points 2 weeks ago
[–] [email protected] 9 points 2 weeks ago

It's A solution, just not the preferred one.

[–] [email protected] -3 points 2 weeks ago (6 children)

Because the US government has more guns than any other entity on the planet. There's no fight it loses.

[–] [email protected] 24 points 2 weeks ago

Afghanistan and Vietnam come to mind.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 2 weeks ago

afganistan, lol

[–] [email protected] 3 points 2 weeks ago

If the us government where to go to war with its own populous it would destroy the very wealth they sought to control.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 2 weeks ago

The Vietnamese peasants and farmers beg to differ.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 2 weeks ago

yeah except for basically all of them