Pages Monday, October 29, 2012 The Proper Role of Government and Electoral Politics "One Voluntaryist's Perspective" is an original weekly column appearing every Monday at Everything-Voluntary.com, by the founder and editor Skyler J. Collins. Archived columns can be found here . OVP-only RSS feed available here . This column was originally intended to give my perspective on current events, but I think I'll modify it somewhat. I'd also like to use it to expound voluntaryist philosophy and ideas in the absence of any current events worth commenting on. This week I'll be talking about the proper role of government and electoral politics. The Proper Role of Government In short, there is none. Government, or the state , is a myth . The power it exercises is philosophically non-existent. Sure, it has guns and can easily compel obedience to it's laws, but this power is wielded illegitimately. Ezra Taft Benson , former Secretary of Agriculture to U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower, wrote , The important thing to keep in mind is that the people who have created their government can give to that government only such powers as they, themselves, have in the first place. Obviously, they cannot give that which they do not possess. So, the question boils down to this. What powers properly belong to each and every person in the absence of and prior to the establishment of any organized governmental form? A hypothetical question? Yes, indeed! But, it is a question which is vital to an understanding