We’ve taken an intellectual journey over the past few weeks. We…

• Refuted the idea that legislation is inherently lawful

• Debunked the belief that all self-proclaimed governments are worthy of that name

• Defined true government in terms of three traits  

• Argued that we should call our current “government” by a different name — The State

We also proposed that you should…

• Embrace the word government

• Be pro-government, but anti-state

• Work against Statism

• Replace the terms liberal and conservative with the terms left-statist and right-statist

Today we’re going to turn in a new direction, and begin knocking down the Myths of Statism, starting here…

The State is NOT the Country

By Perry Willis & Jim Babka

Many people think the words “government” and “state”  are synonyms for . . .

• Country

• Community

• Society

• Culture

• People

• Territory

But when regimes disappear all those other things remain. Likewise…

Millions have lived under criminal rulers they hated, while still loving their countries.

Neither thing could be possible if the words government, state, and country all describe the same entity.

In reality . . .

• The State is NOT the society, the community, the country, the culture, the territory, or the people

• The words “state” and  “government” are NOT synonyms for all those other words. Instead…

• A government is merely an institution — a service provider, like Exxon or Microsoft.

• As such it should only serve, and never rule.

True governments do not belong at the top of a social hierarchy. Instead, they should operate in a completely subservient position, nestled inside a network of competing institutions.

If you love your country, but not The State, join the Zero Aggression Project.

– END –

Do you want your friends to know that The State is NOT the Country? If so, share this idea using Facebook, Twitter, etc. You can improve the world in just a few seconds. Share this new idea with new minds. Go here.

Jim Babka & Perry Willis

Co-founders, the Zero Aggression Project