>And there is little 'new ruler' can do to establish himself if people don't need a ruler. Did you, as an uncoerced free man, ever swear an oath of fealty to t

>And there is little 'new ruler' can do to establish himself if people don't need a ruler. Did you, as an uncoerced free man, ever swear an oath of fealty to the US government? (The pledge of allegiance doesn't count.) Did your parents? Did their parents? Did their parents? Has anyone? Anybody who may have elected to be governed by the United States is now dead, and the chances are good that you're not even related to them by blood. The vast majority of people who have lived under some form of government in their lives almost certainly did not choose to. EDIT: Unless they immigrated. Forgot about that option. If you immigrated to the United States, you are exempt from this thought experiment. But not totally, because you probably weren't stateless when you did.