3 ms·

A really good definition of government that I've heard is "an organization that has a monopoly on force." There's probably more that I'm forgetting but I think

• msla 7y ago
  > A really good definition of government that I've heard is "an organization that has a monopoly on force." There's probably more that I'm forgetting but I think that definition is important because it's something that people often forget or choose to ignore. Max Weber, although his definition is a bit more nuanced: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Max_Weber https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Max_Weber > Weber defined the state as an entity that successfully claims a "monopoly of the legitimate use of physical force within a given territory". "Legitimate" is a tarpit, but in practical terms it's pretty much what others recognize as legitimate. That's the difference between a warlord and a dictator: One controls an armed gang, the other controls a military. This poses some problems for people claiming that anarchism can work: If a region declares itself anarchist, but the majority can and will enforce its rules by force, is it anarchist or majoritarian? Is there any practical difference?