It’s Too Late for Warlords

Many people have objected to libertarian anarchism on the grounds that absent the state, warlords would take over. But what is the state itself but a species of warlord? Without doubt, war making and preparation for war are, apart from looting the public, the state’s most important activities.

For this purpose the state employs legions of armed men and women to fight on its behalf and equips them with a terrifying arsenal. And without doubt, too, the state is a lord. It has issued countless thousands of dictates that it requires people to obey and has enlisted a great variety of police to enforce these dictates with violence as required.

If you fear a takeover by warlords, you are too late. It’s already a done deal. And you never got to enjoy even a single day of the glories of statelessness along the way.