I have often wondered, being an anti-Statist myself, if Statists are really that malicious or just plain stupid. Obviously, a broad generalization can’t be made here, because I’m sure the correct answer is both when you factor everyone in.
First of all, I’d like to define a Statist. To me, a Statist is someone who looks solely to the government for the solutions to any problem that is created through human interaction. This doesn’t mean that an anti-Statist like myself thinks that government isn’t useful in some situations, only that it isn’t necessary for all situations. While the wording is subtle, the differences in attitudes are extraordinary.
From what I have observed, most people are Statists. When you suggest that roads and schools could be privatized, for example, most conservatives would probably scoff at you and tell you that’s a dumb idea. When you suggest that there shouldn’t be a standing army at the Federal level, most people, save maybe 2%, will call you some kind of kook.
Yes, you are probably a Statist if you are reading this. As long as you consider the government to be a “necessary evil” or providing the “general welfare”, you are most likely a Statist. The Founding Fathers in this regard were Statists. They trashed a limited government system for a larger governmental system. It was still very limited by today’s standards, though, and I personally would be fine if such a level of limited government were again obtained in my lifetime (with about a decade or two of time to enjoy it).
But another thing I have observed is that there are basically two groups of Statists: those who know that the State is unnecessary and those who do not. There is a small elite within the Statist hierarchy, a High-Church if you will, who really do know that they are mostly unnecessary. I say ‘they’ because these Statists are usually in government, have been in government, or are in a position of wealth and power to know exactly how it all works. Those SEC managers who were jacking off eight hours a day are a great example of this because they ultimately knew that their jobs didn’t matter. Only people who do not love their work and find no meaning in it would behave in this manner.
At the lower end are the common people who don’t know the ins and outs of government, who have no idea that they are, by nature, Statists, and who are either too blind or too stupid to realize it. As long as you look to the government to fix whatever problem worries you, you are Statist. If you cannot see an alternative path, or regard the alternative as too crazy or destructive, then you are trapped by the State.
That’s the dirty little secret: as long as the High-Church Statists continually convince you that they are needed to solve this problem or that problem, then the Low-Church Statists will constantly be enthralled by them. The current Tea Party movement is, by and large, a Statist movement. It is not concerned with cutting government back down to constitutional limits, so much as it is focused on making government more effective and useful for the people.
But I don’t accept the premise that government is needed for anything. Big or small, a government’s sole mandate is to use ‘legal’ force on others for whatever reason. A human being could not do half the stuff the government does do on a regular basis and be called sacred.
My conclusion to the question is that the High-Church Statists are the malicious ones, but the Low-Church Statists are just plain naive or stupid. Unfortunately, to promote Anti-Statism, you have to target the Low-Church Statists and that’s a hard battle to fight and win. People don’t want to face the alternatives, to have to deal with problems that the State will often take charge of and having an institution that can use legal force exonerates them from their own sins.
And until they realize that by allowing a State to continue the path of force, to continue to justify its existence, is nothing more than a sin, then anti-Statism will never take hold in their hearts. Most people have a hard time admitting that they are a wicked and corrupt people.