Wendy McElroy: When is a government a police state?

Wendy McElroy:

When is a government a police state? The answer is not obvious because there is no clear dividing line between the two; rather, ‘a government’ and ‘a police state’ are two points on a continuum.

Every government asserts its authority through force or the threat of force -- that is, through laws imposed by police or other armed agents. At what point on the continuum does a government cease to be limited and become an Orwellian police state. To answer 'where' requires a definition of the points.

One of the standard definitions of a limited government comes from the 17th century British philosopher John Locke. The Lockean government rests on an implied social contract through which an individual surrenders to government his or her 'right' to adjudicate disputes and to impose judgments. The motive for surrendering this right is to establish a rule of law that protects the person and property of individuals during interactions. In other words, government provides in which 'civil society' functions by providing a final court of arbitration of disputes. In the absence of such disputes, the government is almost passive. (E.g. it might well register land deeds, etc. to prevent conflicts or provide documentation in the case of dispute.) Meanwhile, civil society is rich and active, consisting of the sum total of the voluntary interactions and institutions that make up a community.

Continued. . .