Definition
- Government is the mechanism by which laws are created, judged and enforced.
- Governments today exist in the form of nation states that assume the authority to exercise power over inhabitants without proper consent. As such, they are coercive organisations that breach the Legal Principle.
Legitimate government
- Governments get their legitimate authority from people who delegate some of their rights to it. These rights existed before the government was formed.
- The purpose of government is to secure such rights, not to grant them.
- Governments act appropriately when they act as our agent to defend our pre-existing rights.
‘That which we resist, persists’
- The 3L Movement is not against the government. It happens to be the case that no government in history has been known to comply with the Legal Principle, but there is nothing in nature that prevents the tool of government being used in peaceful ways.
- 3L’s mission is to align all laws globally with the Legal Principle and inspire all to adopt the voluntary Aspirational Values. In a world where this mission has been achieved, forms of government that adhere to the 3L Philosophy can serve in a number of useful functions.
Government is a neutral tool
- Government is a tool, much like a weapon. Tools are neutral; they are neither inherently aligned nor in conflict with the Legal Principle. In much the same way, a rifle can be used in ways that align with the Legal Principle like defending a nation against invasion, or it can be used in aggressive ways that breach it.
Gratitude for government!
- People around the world have successfully used the tool of governments to:
- enforce the criminal laws involving victim crimes,
- protect free speech,
- enforce separation of church and state,
- administer the civil justice system,
- protect private property rights,
- legitimately defend their nation from invasion.
- Admittedly, there are countless examples of the contrary, but ignoring the positive instances is how we reach the unhelpful and erroneous conclusion that government is inherently evil.
Abolishing the government is a fool’s errand
- Those who focus on abolishing the government are like those who try to abolish any specific tool. Their efforts fail – the tool becomes unavailable to law-abiding people, leaving outlaws (criminals) with exclusive access.
A 3L-aligned government
- Instead of prohibition, we should focus our efforts on placing the tool of government into the hands of people who intend to use it in harmony with the Legal Principle. We need the people who judge, interpret, legislate, and enforce the laws to have the 3L Philosophy in their hearts and minds.
- Rather than the endless struggle of government insiders fighting to impose their capricious personal preferences onto others, it is possible that the government be used to create, interpret, administer, and enforce laws that align with the Legal Principle at a local level.
If we fail to adopt the spirit of the 3L Philosophy
- Words alone are insufficient to ensure society’s sustainable alignment with the Legal Principle – misinterpretation is perhaps the biggest risk a 3L society will face. Those administering the law must adopt the spirit of the 3L Philosophy into their hearts and mind, otherwise the meaning of the words, even those defining aggression, will be corrupted.
