Excellent points, but you seem to be reiterating the liberal myth of laws being a force unto themselves, without the need for enforcement. The so-called "Founding Fathers" of the US used violence against their legally legitimate government, pursuing their independence. There was no "contract" with the people, merely the victors unilaterally declaring all subjects within the boundaries of their newly won fiefdom to now belong to the US government. The Deistic theology of non-interventionist clockmaker god formed the basis of the liberal governments. The liberal belief that laws govern themselves, established the impersonal mechanical government in the liberal West. The US Constitution is merely a piece of parchment with no force. Authority of all governments derives from the point of a gun. The Americans in the Whiskey Rebellion and the Southern secessionist states learned the fallacy of believing that nation-state is a "contract" between the people and the rulers. The libertarian perspective is merely the ultimate logical extension of believing this liberal fallacy.
RE: What Makes Government Different?