The dam breaks

A century ago, Aleister Crowley posited a worldview by which "do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the law."  This anarchistic bent sadly is often confused with libertarian minarchism which, unlike Crowley, recognizes there must be at least some modest external limits on one's choices for the protection of others.

And yet in our society, we see signs of self-restraint breaking down all around us.

Restraint is an unfashionable concept these days, but it is the indispensable feature of civilized society. To paraphrase my compatriot George Jonas, punching a spinster’s lights out isn’t wrong because it’s illegal, it’s illegal because it’s wrong. But, in a world without restraints, what’s to stop you? If a certain percentage of your population feels no moral revulsion at randomly pulverizing fellow citizens for sport, a million laws will avail you naught: The societal safety lock is off.

Americans refuse to stop spending more than they make.  They refuse to hold their government accountable for its misdeeds.  Thuggery increases in the streets.  As the saying goes, 'those who refuse to rule themselves must be ruled by others.'  And as the MRAPs and other accouterments of military forces pass to local law enforcement, that day draws ever nearer...