Will the government ever stop its endless pronouncements that it is protecting the people? No, but most Americans know perfectly well that it either cannot or will not actually protect them and their property, and therefore they have resorted increasingly to protecting themselves.

Robert Higgs is Retired Senior Fellow in Political Economy, Founding Editor and former Editor at Large of The Independent Review.
Bureaucracy and GovernmentConstitutional LawGovernment and PoliticsGun ControlLaw and LibertyProperty Rights, Land Use, and ZoningRegulation
Other Independent Review articles by Robert Higgs
Fall 2019 Pressure-Release Valves in Participatory Fascism
Winter 2018/19 Two Worlds: Politics and Everything Else
Fall 2018 Against the Whole Concept and Construction of the Balance of International Payments
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