Interesting conversation. Perhaps it decentralized free society would be *wealthy enough* and *nimble enough* to defend itself against a centralized aggressor. View quoted note →

So today we learned: the reason most people willing to pay taxes is because, if theres a invasion they don't want to live as insurgents in the hills. This is arguably better than huddling at the gates of a wealthy landowner and begging him for protection like we used to do, but still not great.