<p>“So when was the last time the government broke itself up? Government is the root of all monopolies. A monopoly is not defined by the fact that only one entity offers a service, but the fact that only one entity is allowed to offer a service. For example, would you call a booger taco stand a monopoly since it’s the only one of its kind? Government has a monopoly on the use of force within a given territory since if someone not sanctioned by the state attempts to use force, then they are quickly dealt with.”</p>
<p>That’s a lot of words for something I wasn’t talking about.</p>
<p>“Then we are a socialist state (not that I disagree with that) since we have government-enforced monopolies on police, defense, courts, and restrict many other industries. But for some reason, you would likely disagree with my assertion (correct me if I’m wrong).”</p>
<p>We have elements of both. Some markets are government-controlled, and some markets are only regulated, which you may interpret as socialism. Most people don’t.</p>
<p>“So? There were plenty of other taxes. Any form of taxes is not capitalism since capitalism is based on the system of mutually beneficial transactions. Taxes are not mutually beneficial; if they were, then the State would not need to use threats to get people to pay them.”</p>
<p>I can order a hot dog and refuse to pay for it. That doesn’t mean that me buying a hot dog isn’t mutually beneficial. I think people who choose not to pay taxes should be put on a list of people who can’t call 911, can’t drive on publicly owned roads, and can’t send their kids to public schools. That would be a bit more effective than a fine.</p>
<p>“How are you judging America to be not close to socialism and close to capitalism? As I said before, something as fundamental as defense and justice was not allowed to be provided by non-governmentally-sanctioned organizations in the 1800’s.”</p>
<p>1800’s America was close to pure capitalism. Today we have a more equal mix.</p>
<p>“This is the worst part of your post. Not only are the anarcho-capitalists (like myself) known for being against protectionism, but also the Libertarian political party and Ron Paul platform are anti-protectionist (not that I consider either of these two groups to be true libertarians, but I’m showing that you’re wrong using any definition of libertarian).”</p>
<p>My bad. I was referring to the pre-Nixon Republican party, who are sometimes incorrectly defined as libertarian.</p>