Journal Articles

Do Pessimistic Assumptions About Human Behavior Justify Government?

September 1, 2003
Authors: 
Benjamin Powell
Christopher Coyne

This paper has considered two accounts of the evolution from a state of nature to a social order that allows for interaction and exchange. Both accounts begin with pessimistic assumptions about individuals in the absence of a central government. In both cases, the authors conclude that the state, with a monopoly on force, is in the interest of all in society.

Read the article at the Journal of Libertarian Studies [1].


Source URL:https://ppe.mercatus.org/publications/do-pessimistic-assumptions-about-human-behavior-justify-government

Links
[1] http://mises.org/journals/jls/17_4/17_4_2.pdf

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