Government Is Dangerous To Human Life

The twentieth century saw lots of terrible people. Al Capone, Charles Mansion, Bonny and Clyde, are among the villains that cinema has dramatized, and people know as some of the most violent people in the United States during the 20th century. Serial killers have become people we fear. Terrorists, school shooters, all of these things, while not new to civilization, were things Americans worry about, acts by very evil people.

Yet we still trust in Governments, and demand Governments help us. If you look at the track record of Governments in the 20th century, and today, maybe you’d think twice. State institutions are estimated to have killed 262 million innocent people in the 20th century. This is more than all the soldiers killed in all the wars of the 20th century. Governments incarcerate people at an alarming rate for non-violent victimless crimes. Nearly 2% of the United States population is incarcerated, most for non-violent crime.

Only Governments have ever dropped nuclear bombs on civilian targets. Because of this I cam skeptical that if we continue on the path of powerful central governments, the world will cease to exist as we know it. Government naturally tends to grab more and more power for itself over everything. Whether at a slow pace, like the US Government over the last two centuries, or at a quick pace, like the Nazi Government of Hitler, you can be certain that they all end up moving toward totalitarianism in the end. They will fight each other for power, and murder civilians that get in the way.

It is true that Democratic government has done far less murder than regimes like Communist Russia or Mao’s China, but we do see a slow creep of the United States military being engaged in more and more conflicts. The mission creep does not seem like it is going to stop, and this can only lead to more civilian deaths. Democracy does not mean less death at its hands, but minimally it will allow people who are outraged at their leaders to elect new ones. My belief though is that over time democratic government will figure out ways to keep the people from known for understanding the things it does. We see this in the USA with the NSA spying on its people, the collusion with mainstream media, and the regulation they are attempting to put on free speech outlets like the internet.

Charles Manson is a saint compared to these Governments for one reason, he had no authority to murder people legally, Governments do.