Night-watchman state

In libertarian political philosophy, a night-watchman state, or minarchist state, is a model of a state whose only functions are to provide its citizens with the military, the police and courts, thus protecting them from aggression, theft, breach of contract and fraud and enforcing property laws.[1][2][3] Nineteenth-century Britain has been described by historian Charles Townshend as standard-bearer of this form of government among European countries.[4]

Etymology

The term Nachtwächterstaat was coined by German socialist Ferdinand Lassalle in an 1862 speech in Berlin. He criticized the bourgeois liberal limited government state, comparing it to a night-watchman whose sole duty was preventing theft. The phrase quickly caught on as a description of capitalist government, even as liberalism began to mean a more progressive state.[5] Ludwig von Mises later opined that Lassalle tried to make limited government look ridiculous, but that it was no more ridiculous than governments that concerned themselves with "the preparation of sauerkraut, with the manufacture of trouser buttons, or with the publication of newspapers".[6] Proponents of the Night-watchman state are minarchists, a contraction of "minimum" and -archy. Arche (/ˈɑːrki/; Ancient Greek: ἀρχή) is a Greek word which came to mean "first place, power", "method of government", "empire, realm", "authorities" (in plural: ἀρχαί), "command".[7] The word "minarchist" was coined by Samuel Edward Konkin III in 1980.[8]

Philosophy

Minarchists generally justify the state on the grounds that it is the logical consequence of adhering to the non-aggression principle. They argue that anarchism is impractical because it is not sufficient to enforce the non-aggression principle. They argue that this is because the enforcement of laws under anarchism is open to competition.[9] Another common justification is that private defense and court firms would tend to represent the interests of those who pay them enough.[10]

Some minarchists argue that a state is inevitable,[11] thus believing anarchy to be futile. Minarchists justify the necessity of the state on the grounds that private defence agencies and courts could be biased by unevenly representing the interests of higher paying clients.[12] Robert Nozick, who publicized the idea of a minimal state in Anarchy, State, and Utopia, argued that a night-watchman state provides a framework that allows for any political system that respects fundamental individual rights, and therefore morally justifies the existence of a state.[13][14]

References

Notes

  1. ↑ Gregory, Anthony.The Minarchist's Dilemma. Strike The Root. 10 May 2004.
  2. ↑ What role should certain specific governments play in Objectivist government? - Leonard Peikoff/
  3. ↑ "Interview with Yaron Brook on economic issues in today's world (Part 1). « Featured Podcast « Peikoff". www.peikoff.com.
  4. ↑ Townshend, Charles (2000). The Oxford History of Modern War. Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-285373-2. “Britain, however, with its strong tradition of minimal government — the ‘night-watchman state’ — vividly illustrated the speed of the shift [during World War I] from normalcy to drastic and all-embracing wartime powers like those contained in the Defence of the Realm Act.” (pp. 14-15)
  5. ↑ Marian Sawer, The ethical state?: social liberalism in Australia, Melbourne University Publishing, 2003, p. 87, ISBN 0-522-85082-0, ISBN 978-0-522-85082-6
  6. ↑ Ludwig von Mises, Liberalism, 1927, p. 37
  7. ↑ ἀρχή, A Greek-English Lexicon
  8. ↑ Samuel Edward Konkin III, New Libertarian Manifesto, 1980, p. 9.
  9. ↑ Roderick T. Long & Tibor R. Machan, eds. (2008). Anarchism/Minarchism: Is a Government Part of a Free Country?. Ashgate Publishing. ISBN 978-0-7546-6066-8.
  10. ↑ Holcombe, Randall G. http://www.independent.org/pdf/tir/tir_08_3_holcombe.pdf. "Government: Unnecessary but Inevitable".
  11. ↑ Emmett, Ross B. (2011-08-12). Frank H. Knight in Iowa City, 1919–1928. Emerald Group Publishing. ISBN 978-1-78052-008-7.
  12. ↑ Holcombe, Randall G. http://www.independent.org/pdf/tir/tir_08_3_holcombe.pdf. "Government: Unnecessary but Inevitable".
  13. ↑ Nozick, Robert (1974). Anarchy, State, and Utopia. Basic Books. ISBN 978-0-465-09720-3.
  14. ↑ Gordon, David (2008). "Minimal State". In Hamowy, Ronald. The Encyclopedia of Libertarianism. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE; Cato Institute. pp. 332–34. doi:10.4135/9781412965811.n204. ISBN 978-1412965804. LCCN 2008009151. OCLC 750831024.

Bibliography

  • Robert Nozick. Anarchy, State, and Utopia. New York: Basic Books, 1974.
  • Wolff, Jonathan. Robert Nozick: Property, Justice, and the Minimal State. Cambridge, U.K.: Polity Press, 1991.
  • "Anarchism and Minarchism. A Rapprochement", Journal des Economists et des Estudes Humaines, Vol. 14, No.4 (December 2002), pages 569–88 Tibor R. Machan.
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