In his 1985 book The State, Anthony de Jasay notes that just as anarchy might be destabilized by statelike organizations adept at aggression and warfare, so the minimal state faces incentives to grow beyond the scope of enforcing individual rights. But could freedom from abusive government be maintained by designing a state with an even narrower charter—namely, to defend society from the threat of an expanding state?

Hartmut Kliemt is professor of philosophy and economics and vice president of research at the Frankfurt School of Finance and Management.
Culture and SocietyFamily
Other Independent Review articles by Hartmut Kliemt
Winter 2013/14 Buchanan as a Classical Liberal