Re: AC: The Economics of Revolutions
Even jr. high educated, inner city gangs know this truth, and avoid "gang war" at all costs.
No, they have few direct confrontations in force, but they have small skirmishes all the time at the fringes, and those skirmishes may be dangerous to bystanders. Those in the neighborhood (since they don't have to pay taxes) pay a private security firm to be out in force in their neighborhood. It's more cost effective for the security firm to offer this service to several adjacent communities at the same time and over time, the amount of coverage offered becomes sparser.
The citizens (unwilling to pay more to get the same service they used to get, but unwilling to go without and absent another choice due to the security market's entry costs) put up with it, but decide that a total ban on handguns on streets within 5 blocks of their houses is gonna be necessary for them to feel safe without a cop on every corner.
Now, non-subscribers live in this covered area, but everytime Bob AC goes out of the house with he sidearm, the few on-duty rentacops busts his balls, pushing him once or twice. Now Bob talks to his security company, demanding protection from these assaults.
The two security companies cannot reach an amicable agreement, and the non-coercer decides it's not worth the cost to insure Bob. Bob is now left uninsured in a two-provider market. Everytime he goes out with his gun he's harassed, and eventually an overzealous rentacop tries to take Bob's gun from him at a fourth of July picnic and gets shot.
The rentacop agency arrests Bob and disappears him, torturing him for weeks. And it all starts because some people live by a bar, don't want to sell their houses, and hate it when drunk people deface their property on saturday nights.
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