In asserting that the MICFiC own my bodily existence, and every building in the world, I mean own in the sense of “can dispose of as they please”. They destroy whomever and whatever they wish – no one can stop them, or punish them afterwards.

Generally speaking, though, life goes on as usual – until it doesn’t.

I assume you got here from IOZ’s blog. I thought all the regular commenters there were anarchists, as I am, but the sentiment you’ve expressed here is quite to the contrary, unless I misunderstand you. Caesar may believe he owns your life, but in reality he’s just a man like other men. Same for the men and women who “make up” the United States and its subsidiaries.

I see it this way. The government enforces social law; the Creative Forces of the Universe enforce moral law. As Jesus said, “render unto Caesar that which is Caesar, and unto God that which is God’s.” God owns your immortal soul, if any; Caesar (the MICFiC) owns your life, the life of all your friends and family, and whether one stone remains on top of another in any city, town, or hamlet anywhere in the world.

If the threat is an army of a half million invading soldiers, is your average individual homeowner really going to be able to afford to pay the sum necessary to enable and induce a private security provider to muster the force necessary to fight that army? The quarter of a million militiamen committed to the defense of a particular territory, and paid for by neighbors whose security interests naturally overlap, sounds like a far more viable defense.

I certainly can’t disagree with someone who proposes a system that could co-exist with my preferred system! But I guess that’s what makes us libertarians—no matter if one might label you “left” and me “right.”

As for the national defense argument, however, I’m not particularly convinced that a territory-based system is necessary (although it can be sufficient). After all, if a Swiss can tell the German Kaiser that a quarter of a million Swiss militiamen would “shoot twice and go home” if invaded by a half million German soldiers, why couldn’t individuals subscribe to a security provider that promises to shoot on your behalf and then go home?