Police, mayor allow it to happen.
In one sense, it’s like watching a nature documentary, but in this instance we are getting a rare close-up glimpse at the birth of a State in the wild. The mob takes over an area of land, establishes dominance, and then begins constructing a hierarchy among themselves, even if they don’t realize they’re doing it. A primitive form of taxation will follow, as will suppression of dissent. The emergence of this State will follow the time-worn evolutionary course that every other State has, because the seed of the State is inextricably bound up in human nature. Understanding this fact makes it all the more mind-boggling that a State restricted by a constitution has ever existed to any extent.
This will surely rile some libertarian readers of this space: We do not have a choice between a society with a State and one without. The State will always be with us, because it is within us. To prevent the rise of the wild, primitive, totalitarian variety, we purposely create government, imbue it with a monopoly on violence, imprison it, and pray that the bars are strong enough to hold it. It’s the best we can do, and it’s important to realize that that is our only option. That doesn’t mean there’s no room for private security. Most police could easily be replaced by private firms that did nothing other than defend, and who could be more easily held accountable for their actions. The Seattle mob doesn’t want the abolition of police, they want their own gang of armed thugs on patrol, doing their bidding. Just like every State in history.
