Some months ago a friend said that if she had a religion, it was democracy. In context, I think she meant the institutions of our country's government. In that sense, democracy is definitely NOT my religion. But to emphasize common ground, I said I value societies that uphold democratic values of equal individual rights.

Nevertheless, Democracy can't be my religion because I don't believe in the nation-state. And I don't believe in the nation-state because I don't believe in the initiation of force.

There are three types of people who believe in the use of force to get their way:

  • Criminals.
  • Abusive, ignorant parents.
  • Politicians.

Within the nation-state, democracy is a trick. In a dictatorship, if the police shut down a food stand for operating without a license, that's tyranny. But if police in a democracy do so, we've been led to believe that is the "will of the people."

Well, it wasn't the "will" of the person who lost his business! And just because an elected legislature may have passed the business licensing law, does that mean that the "people" really agreed to it?

Thomas Jefferson wrote, "The legitimate powers of government extend to such acts only as are injurious to others." As long as another person "neither picks my pocket nor breaks my leg," he should be left alone.

If you see a pickpocket in the act, you may very well try to do something about it. You might yell, "Stop! Thief!" or even try to physically stop the perpetrator yourself. You would be fully justified in this, and might even be praised as a hero.

But if you see someone selling tacos on the street, would that bother you? Would you personally use physical force to destroy the stand?

Certainly not. It's literally none of your business. If the taco seller isn't harming anyone, there is no need to call the cops on him.

But the State, whether dictatorial or democratic, often prohibits things that aren't harmful. But just because 51% or even 99% agree, that is no justification for using force against peaceful people who happen to do things you dislike.

Don't get me wrong: I would much prefer living in a democratic nation-state to the alternative. Rights and freedoms are generally respected in comparison to dictatorships, and one is more likely to enjoy due process in courts of law.

But, our freedoms aren't sufficiently respected. We can't work without permission, improve our homes without permission, take drugs that we want or need without permission, or board a flight we had paid for without very intrusive searches.

In the United States, "Democracy" has reached absurd depths in the persecution of Julian Assange. His "crime" was exposing U.S. crimes in its illegal wars. Assange isn't even a U.S. citizen and his work was produced outside of the U.S.

Many who support Assange's extradition to the United States also fret about the January 6 riot/insurrection and the threat that the Republican Party poses to "Our Democracy."

I certainly acknowledge the importance of maintaining the integrity of certified election results. But what's the point of democracy if the government is allowed to cover up its own crimes and imprison journalists?

What's the point of democracy if the people are unaware of the evil their government has committed?

Showing up at the polls on election day isn't democracy. There's a lot more to it, including respect for the rights and freedoms of all and the free flow of information, no matter how damning it is.

But no state can be fully democratic, because the central feature of the state is the threat and use of force. Which means it ultimately does not respect our rights or freedoms.

Democracy is one's right to have a say in making important decisions in her life and future. The more a society leaves things to individual choice, the more democratic it is.

Democracy isn't the justification for politicians to use force. Democracy is the empowerment of the people to do as they individually decide.

If only democracy could abolish the state. But as long as the state exists, force and coercion will be the foundation of society.

We deserve better. We deserve democracy without the state. We deserve freedom.