you class every gov't action as an increase, that is, the old anarcho-libertarian argument. However, in practice, that argument leads to more gov't, not less. By putting the argument in "all-or-nothing" terms, you guarantee the victory of the all, since there are just not enough nihilists to vote for the nothing, especially in times of crises. The task is not to whither the state away, but to prune it to its proper functions. Man is a social animal, and exists naturally in some determined hierarchy, as in the family, for example. The only way to do away with gov't is to do away with man. But anarchism, imo, is simply a refusal to face the task of determining (and therefore limiting) the government. "Dan, I haven't actually seen an argument that resembles what you are calling the "traditional narrative." Unless you class every gov't action as an increase, that is, the old anarcho-libertarian argument. However, in practice, that argument leads to more gov't, not less. By putting the argument in "all-or-nothing" terms, you guarantee the victory of the all, since there are just not enough nihilists to vote for the nothing, especially in times of crises." I'm not sure what this is referring to. Could you clarify this? "The task is not to whither the state away, but to prune it to its proper functions. Man is a social animal, and exists naturally in some determined hierarchy, as in the family, for example. The only way to do away with