What you're talking about sounds like Max Weber's theory about the state being defined as any entity with the monopoly of the legitimate use of violence. http:

What you're talking about sounds like Max Weber's theory about the state being defined as any entity with the monopoly of the legitimate use of violence. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monopoly_on_violence http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monopoly_on_violence I think a valid question would be: can a government even exist without the possibility of exercising violence as a means of control? And if that's the case, is there any other means of organizing human beings which would enable this?