In the first part, I stated that a crime ought be defined as any forcible
exertion of will against another's property. Although the state operates as the monopoly of force in a given geographical location (border), not everything the state does need be considered a crime.
I defined crime as a matter of forcing one's will against another and their property because it interferes with the right of a person to live their life. It logically follows that during the time the action of the crime is taking place that the victim of the crime has the right to use defensive force to protect his life against the unwanted intrusion of the criminal. Therefore, when members of the state, or anyone in general for that matter, operate in such a way that protects a victim from a criminal (such as apprehending a thief in a store or preventing a rapist from attacking someone, and all other criminal acts against innocent people) a noble deed has been done.
However, the state itself infringes on the lives of innocent people. Taxation is just another word for theft committed at large by the state. Wars that involve "collateral damage" define the state as an entity of people who commit murder (even assuming the war is justified in some way). The state is also known for what is called eminent domain; an action that involves members of the state seizing land from innocent people for the ends the government has in mind. The drug war has lead to force being used against people who have done nothing more than use or possess things members of the state do not think they should, regardless of whether the user has actually harmed anyone else.
Logically, it goes to show that multiple crimes are being committed at every second of every day, by the state alone. every arrest made against someone who has not committed a crime against another (popularly referred to as a victimless crime) is a crime. Every sales tax paid, income tax collected, contraband arrest, speeding ticket given... the amount of crime and force in society by the state alone is off the chart.
To realistically measure the amount of crime, one must take the number of forceful acts against peaceful people committed by the state in conjunction with acts against peaceful people committed by private citizens.
Most people I have met often say "but what is the alternative" when confronted with the criminal nature of the state. Or say "it's not perfect, but that's life" to the same issue.
True, it's not perfect, and there will never be a perfect system of government... but do we really want an entity like the state, who's job is to monopolize and magnify the imperfections of humanity?
To the second problem, finding an alternative, I have found that most people like to sound like they're being logical in making this complaint, but when the alternative is presented, they prove that they are usually just acting out of anxiety. Nevertheless, if you truly are interested in alternatives to top-down authroitarian law, I would recommend looking into customary law.
Customary law, being an alternative to authoritarian law, is essentially a voluntary form of law. Private arbitrators make decisions in which the plaintiff pays for, whereas the defendant can choose to show up or not show up, comply or not comply. The check on the defendant is the rest of society. As ALREADY HAPPENS with merchant law, still practiced today, those who are unwilling to comply are ostracized by the rest of the community. Imagine trying to go the market place and buy goods, only to find nobody will trade with you. Could you imagine being a business man and having everyone whom you trade with turn their backs on you? In such a situation, failure to comply would mean failure to get gas for your car, food for your stomach, etc.
There also remains the idea that Insurance companies, due to their profession in risk assessment and asset protection, would provide policing/security, and the idea of private communities forming where the property owners make the funding of protective services as a requirement of living in the neighborhood. Let's not forget neighborhood watch programs.
Perhaps the most important thing in all these situations is that the community really does have to be much more together in the decision making. There would be much more solidarity than what exists when the state steps in and makes laws and forces everyone to behave in this or that way. Not to mention the complete lack of all the corrupt things we do not want with authoritarian law (the taxes, eminent domain issues, arbitrarily locking people up for possessing the wrong things, etc.) AND, due to the voluntary nature, members of society COULD sort of ostracize unwanted people who haven't committed crimes, such as drug users.
Customary/voluntary law is the true socialized man's choice. Authoritarian law in many cases only demands a minority of politically engaged people bind together and tell everyone else in society what to do. Customary law is based on the feelings of those in society as a whole, and how they interact, and more importantly, what they think. Who has more virtue; Those who want to force others to do the right thing, or those who wish to convince others of the virtue of doing the right thing?
It should be noted that this is an imperfect and abbreviated description of customary law, so if you think of something here or there that would not be attended to, consider doing more research rather than just relying on my blog. But keep in mind, other people are thinking people too, and things may be better if they are free to think and act on what you believe to be just, rather than being restrained by arbitrary authoritarian laws.
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