No. I've thought about this issue extensively. I've made up my mind on it. I'm not wandering this world blissfully ignorant. I know where my knowledge limitations are, and I actively try to fill those gaps when I can.

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When they come a wull staun ma groon
Staun ma groon al nae be afraid
Thoughts awe hame tak awa ma fear
Sweat an bluid hide ma veil awe tears

Well except that neither of those protect anyone, you're right.

The police are not tasked with protecting anybody.

The military is primarily concerned with killing people and breaking things, thereby protecting the nation in general.

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In case you were wondering, yes, there really ARE more idiots these days....technology has made natural selection obsolete.

Perhaps because it is explicitly spelled out in the US Constitution as a legitimate power assigned to the federal government.

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In case you were wondering, yes, there really ARE more idiots these days....technology has made natural selection obsolete.

Either way you're screwed - there's no "defense" at all - The Blackwaters will get paid the big bucks from our taxes to oppress us and the military will be "fighting for our freedoms" in some foreign country that never posed a threat to us but has plenty of oil and does not do the bidding of Oilfinger.

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"To compel a man to subsidize with his taxes the propagation of ideas which he disbelieves and abhors is sinful and tyrannical."
~Thomas Jefferson

"There is Still No Such Thing As a Fair Tax"

Please explain? I feel protected by the police. If they werent here, robbing killing and raping would be rampant.

And certain places in the world need a militairy force too.

Right, but is this a morrally sound argument? The fact that a bunch of guys 200 years ago said that they had the power of defense isn't very compelling moral argument.

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"Sometimes it is said that man cannot be trusted with the government of himself. Can he, then, be trusted with the government of others? Or have we found angels in the form of kings to govern him? Let history answer this question."
-Thomas Jefferson in his first inauguration address

put it this way liberty i don't trust anyone who answers to their own profit to protect me, or the nation. I expect them to protect the amount of money they want to make.

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"A dog barks when his master is attacked. I would be a coward if I saw that God's truth is attacked and yet would remain silent."
-John Calvin

You obviously did not read what I wrote.

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"Sometimes it is said that man cannot be trusted with the government of himself. Can he, then, be trusted with the government of others? Or have we found angels in the form of kings to govern him? Let history answer this question."
-Thomas Jefferson in his first inauguration address

I just have a few practical questions about the theory of private defense agencies. Sorry if you’ve addressed these in detail already, just say so and I’ll look around.

First, I want to ask about the unequal purchasing power held by individuals. A parallel can be drawn to private health care; those with the capital would be able to purchase superior service, while the destitute and poor would be have very little, if any, resources to spend on defense. Large corporations like the financial giants or agribusinesses would have the funds to use their “defense” agencies for more offensive purposes; what in theory would prevent these huge businesses from reestablishing old-style imperialism aimed at opening up markets and destroying competitors? What would stop them from subjugating their labor force besides an equally large defense agency aligned with the workers? War or the constant imminent threat of war would be very profitable for a private military-industrial complex, so what would prevent the encouragement of a worldwide management-labor cold war or hot war?

What would the system of law be like? Would each agency have its own “constitution,” in a way?

Consider the situation of a cartel. In today’s world, many cartels have resorted to government support to maintain themselves. In a world of private PDAs, couldn’t the members of a cartel use these organizations to maintain cartels via force in many or all industries?

And what about a cartel of PDAs—they could easily enforce the organization by ganging up on any agency that dared break the “contract.” There would a continuous arms race due to the competition, and a situation rife with suspicion and tension—not unlike today’s world of public defense agencies administered by governments. They could ensure business and high prices through coordinated attacks on each other’s customers.

These are just some potential problems I see arising, and I'm curious how the theory would solve them.

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No man is an island...
Each man's death diminishes me,
Because I am involved in Mankind.
And therefore, never send to know
For whom the bell tolls;
It tolls for thee.
—John Donne

True but they are not the only ones that vote and are not the only ones that are represented by our elected officials. I also think that people on this site are more polarized and influenced by political philosophies than the average person that relates things more to how policies impact their own lives.

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"Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"

No I did, but I still don't trust people worth a damn. It's a little to libertarian for my blood. I am not worried about the army shooting it's own citizens i am worried about what happens when there is conflicting interests and our nation ends up on the loosing side. With you private defense companies, what happens in a war. All the enemy would have to do is offer a bigger contract and look, no army to defend the nation. What would keep these private defense companies from doing this considering it is perfectly legal to accept a better contract. If you say it violates a special law, or violates a special contract, what does the government have to enforce this? They would still need an army to enforce the rule on their own private defense companies. Or another scenario what happens when someone (who is rich enough) decides to pay some of these companies better? Now we have to groups, one group of defense companies loyal to rich guy and another group loyal to the government. Civil Wars have been started that way. That is what I mean when I say there is no loyalty. The way the system is now the army is loyal to the national defense and is only concerned with the defense of the nation.

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"A dog barks when his master is attacked. I would be a coward if I saw that God's truth is attacked and yet would remain silent."
-John Calvin

Geez, not even the intellectual champion of free markets and privatization, Milton Friedman, would have privatized defense/security.

Andrew

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Ethanol is a fabulous solution to our energy dilemma because it will provide more fuel for us to drive around and look for food.

-- Unknown

I know and i agree in this point with Milton Friedman, but it`s worth noting, that his son, David Friedman, cames to other conclusioons.

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Government is the great fiction through which everybody endeavors to live at the expense of everybody else

Claude Frédéric Bastiat

So did Bush Sr's son with respect to Iraq, and it turns out Bush Sr. was right. Also, it turns out that the great experiment of private defense with the iraq war has turned out to be mainly characterized by corruption, not better defense.

I think, in principle, the free market is a good thing. But some things require a state monopoly for the well being of a society.

Andrew

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Ethanol is a fabulous solution to our energy dilemma because it will provide more fuel for us to drive around and look for food.

-- Unknown

Of course. Our government is charged only with protecting us and our rights. It is one of the few areas in which should have a total monopoly. If privatized defense was better there would be no need for governments, and I think we can all agree that that is unrealistic.