[Aurelius]

"There are governments and there are governments. Surely you do not mean to imply that there is little difference between the U.S. government and that of, say, North Korea."

But the discussion here is about governments in general, not the U.S. government in particular, which, historically at least, has been less bad than most governments. But the fact that the world average annual govermental murder rate for the 20th century is 6 times the historical criminal homicide rate in the U.S. is less than a sterling endorsement of government in general.

[Logophile]

But the discussion here is about governments in general, not the U.S. government in particular, which, historically at least, has been less bad than most governments. But the fact that the world average annual govermental murder rate for the 20th century is 6 times the historical criminal homicide rate in the U.S. is less than a sterling endorsement of government in general.

It is pointless to talk about governments in general. None of us has to deal with government in general, but with a particular government. The details are important. Why has the U.S. government been less bad than most? What can we learn from that?