Would Life Be Easier Without Governments?

I've always thought that life would be so much easier if everyone just governed themselves, and was in charge of their rights and property. Humans have, after all, imposed war, famine, unjust societal standards, and a plethora of other issues upon themselves; no natural forces have really contributed that much to the unhappiness and restriction within our society.

What would happen if there was no government, or a system of hierarchy? Someone could own an endless amount of property and have as many liberties as they wish. But, to make it just, everyone else would have those same exact freedoms, too. This also means that if I declare a certain amount of land to be mine without any legal resources binding me to it, my neighbor could just as rightfully claim that land to be theirs and kick me off. I wouldn't really be able to do anything about it, and I would probably get angry. If this system were to exist in our world right now, every little thing would end up in a stalemate, and wars would probably be a lot more frequent.

No matter how good you think your idea of perfect personal liberties are, there will always be someone near you with opposing thoughts regarding what those rights should be. If those ideals were to be extremely different, people would most definitely break into chaos. For example, you might think that it is wrong to own multiple firearms (even if it is for self-defense) but your neighbor may think it is right. Not only can some sort of conflict ensue, but because there would be no legal consequences to your neighbor's actions, you may also start to feel unsafe, which is in violation of your natural rights.

Governments have the power to protect our inalienable rights and impose serious consequences on those who violate them, but with the guarantee of certain rights, other freedoms will have to be sacrificed. This idea of social contracts means that no one can ever really be entitled to every single freedom in the book if they want to peacefully (to some extent) coexist with other individuals.

In the end, it's impossible to please everyone; not all people will be satisfied with the way central governments are structured. While I agree that our current ruling system has its faults, it is pretty successful at maintaining societal structure while still trying to defend everyone's personal rights.

Stay Sunny,

Asmi.