“Politics is applied bad-will.”

Mises Institute President Jeff Deist made that comment during an interview and he hit the nail on the head.

The political system provides people with the opportunity to do things to their neighbors that they wouldn’t dare do themselves.

Think about it. You wouldn’t go break into your neighbor’s house and steal his guns just because you don’t like guns. But vote for the right candidate and you might be able to get the state to do your dirty work for you. You would never tackle your neighbor and lock him into a cage for smoking weed. But vote the right people into office to pass a law and the police will do it for you. And you would never hack into your neighbor’s bank account and drain 40 percent of her income to fund your favorite charity. But if your people control the government, you can accomplish the same thing through government force.

On your own, you can’t make people do the things you think they should. You can’t force people you don’t agree with to conform to your will. But if you can control the political system, you have the power, at least indirectly.

Politics throws a veil of “legitimacy” over force and coercion. It is institutionalized violence. And government (in the context of the state) allows people to hit their neighbors without having to get their hands dirty.

The state is kind of like Nelson in the Netflix series Ozark. Nelson is the hitman who does the dirty work for the Navarro drug cartel. If you need somebody offed, Nelson gets the job done in a ruthless and efficient manner. The person who called the hit has plausible deniability. They weren’t there. They didn’t pull the trigger. They didn’t kill anybody.

But as Wendy learns, at some point you have to take ownership of your own violence.

If you’re trying to use the political system and the force of government to make people act in the ways you think they should, you’re ultimately committing acts of violence.

When you call the hit, you’re every bit as guilty as the hitman.

Own your violence.

The state enforces every law, every regulation, and every mandate with the threat of violence. And governments collect every penny of their revenue at gunpoint. Doubt this? Resist and see what happens.

The fact that you think people should behave in a certain way for their own well-being, they shouldn’t do certain things, or they should fund certain things for some greater good doesn’t change the calculus. You may have the noblest of intentions. You may fancy your causes righteous and just. You may wrap yourself in a cocoon of moral superiority. But never forget you’re still cracking skulls to mold the world into your image.

Think yourself righteous if it makes you feel better, but own your violence.

Image: Netflix