[Protagoras]

I suppose the thing that bothers me most about your position is that at the root of it is the idea that the state as an obligation to take care of you and\or act on your behalf.

The only rightful role of government in a free society is to defend rights. The only one. In the absence of that, I have no need of them whatsoever.

The primary reasonability of the state, in it's operation of the criminal justice system, is to protect society from those who would do us harm.

You said it yourself. Where you get the idea that I think the government should "take care of me" is a mystery to me.

Your idea about civil courts is partially right, but it runs into trouble when you mix criminal activity with civil tort disagreements. And as to taking care of yourself, no problem, but the only reason most people consent to governments is to give them the power to use force on their behalf. Otherwise, chaos.

[Kerberos]

"You said it yourself. Where you get the idea that I think the government should "take care of me" is a mystery to me. "

No it has nothing to do with them taking care of me. It has to do with the reasonability of the state to apprehend those who commit crimes and bring them to justice. Otherwise what we have is vigilantism.

"Your idea about civil courts is partially right, but it runs into trouble when you mix criminal activity with civil tort disagreements"

How so?