[LinusKS]

The mafia is a good example of how government would work if representative democracy were somehow eliminated, and no other kind of government were allowed to take its place.

A better example is feudalism.

Feudalism is what happens when the descendants of organized gangs and leaders of armies give themselves titles and coats of arms, and look for ways to institutionalize and legitimize their reign.

The owners of land in medieval Europe were called kings, but they did not start out that way. In the beginning, they were simply strongmen, who gathered enough followers to control certain areas through intimidation and organized violence, or by conquest.

They were paid protection money - which in the dark ages went by other names: "danegeld," for example, and "sergeantry." Later these payments were simply called taxes, or rent.

In this way, they were exactly the same as any crime family, that would control neighborhoods or unions or industries by threatening, or in some cases carrying out threats, against anyone who stood against them.

In all cases, they rely on their ability to control the means of production, which in turn allows them to extort money from those who work. The profits extracted from workers, in turn, allow them to pay the soldiers, mercenaries, or "private defense agencies," so they can either expand, or protect the turf they already have.

A few hundred years ago, some people decided that this form of government was immoral, and that people should rule themselves through a democratic process, rather than being subjected to the whims of those among them that were richest, or the most violent or well-armed.

This decision - the one that resulted in democracy, and all of the advantages we enjoy today (compared to the dark ages) is the one that anarchocapitalists are seeking to overturn.

Anarchocapitalism is not "no government."

It's government by the rich, and by the violent.