# "Get the government off my back"

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/get-the-government-off-my-back/1010973>\
**Category:** The BBQ Pit\
**Created:** [November 30, 2024, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/get-the-government-off-my-back/1010973 "2024-11-30T14:46:00Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 2\
**Page:** 8

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**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\
**Post date:** [December 19, 2024, 6:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/get-the-government-off-my-back/1010973/141 "2024-12-19T06:04:17Z")

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I know that one!

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**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\
**Post date:** [December 19, 2024, 6:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/get-the-government-off-my-back/1010973/142 "2024-12-19T06:53:28Z")

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> [@Kropotkin](#):
>
> Let’s first distinguish between “government” and “social organization” or something similar. “Government” usually implies a small segment of society able to compel others and using force to do so as it sees fit and can get away with it. That’s different from “people coming together collectively for common purposes, including dispute resolution.”

The difference being that a government has ways of dealing with people who don’t want to cooperate, while _“people coming together collectively for common purposes, including dispute resolution”_ will just get crushed or ignored. A resolution that can’t be enforced is meaningless, and a society unwilling to use force will get overthrown or conquered by one that _is_ willing.

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