4 ms·

Agreed. A government is fundamentally just an organized gang that defends by force the right to tax some population, and I don't see anything wrong with such ga

by avn2109 12y ago

Agreed. A government is fundamentally just an organized gang that defends by force the right to tax some population, and I don't see anything wrong with such gangs formalizing the procedure by which one comes under their jurisdiction. It strikes me as analogous to the Mafia documenting a convenient, well-understood procedure by which to pay protection money/bribe them in exchange for some benefits associated with their possession of the means of physical violence.

ssalazar 12y ago
Can you name any gang or mafia group that uses racket money to build and maintain roads, telephone lines, and other public infrastructure?
- deleted 12y ago
  [deleted]
- avn2109 12y ago
  Sure thing: Hezbollah in Lebanon [0], Hamas in Palestine [1], the Taliban in Afghanistan [2], the Islamic State and related factions in various fluid-bordered Middle Eastern regions [3], several Mexican drug cartels (with the notable exception of the Zetas), the list goes on and on. Basically any armed organization aiming for mainstream social control will have a schools-and-hospitals wing. Social services are propaganda expenses to these organizations, just as they are to e.g. the American government. This is because the DNA/business model of all such organizations is identical and as old as human civilization. [0] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hezbollah_social_services http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hezbollah_social_services [1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hamas#Social_welfare http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hamas#Social_welfare [2] http://content.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1581119,00.html http://content.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1581119,00... [3] http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2014/07/islamic-state-bread-subsidies-syria-iraq-terrorism.html# http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2014/07/islamic-st... [4] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Propaganda_in_the_Mexican_Drug_War#Propaganda http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Propaganda_in_the_Mexican_Drug_...

by avn2109 12y ago

ssalazar 12y ago

Can you name any gang or mafia group that uses racket money to build and maintain roads, telephone lines, and other public infrastructure?

deleted 12y ago
[deleted]
avn2109 12y ago
Sure thing: Hezbollah in Lebanon [0], Hamas in Palestine [1], the Taliban in Afghanistan [2], the Islamic State and related factions in various fluid-bordered Middle Eastern regions [3], several Mexican drug cartels (with the notable exception of the Zetas), the list goes on and on. Basically any armed organization aiming for mainstream social control will have a schools-and-hospitals wing. Social services are propaganda expenses to these organizations, just as they are to e.g. the American government. This is because the DNA/business model of all such organizations is identical and as old as human civilization. [0] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hezbollah_social_services http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hezbollah_social_services [1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hamas#Social_welfare http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hamas#Social_welfare [2] http://content.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1581119,00.html http://content.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1581119,00... [3] http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2014/07/islamic-state-bread-subsidies-syria-iraq-terrorism.html# http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2014/07/islamic-st... [4] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Propaganda_in_the_Mexican_Drug_War#Propaganda http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Propaganda_in_the_Mexican_Drug_...