[pvn]

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It is the position of ACists that in the long run, illegitimate businesses cannot compete with legit businesses. An illegitimate business being one that relies on violence, theft, or defrauding customers in order to make money (other things too, but those would be the main three, I'd think). Makes sense.

But then logically, it should follow that all illegitimate governments will ultimately fail, as they rely on taxing the citizenry (theft), among other things. And history will show that all illegitimae governments DO ultimately fail.

To me, the problem arises with the word "ultimately." Governments can take the better part of a millenium before they finally go under. If an illegitimate government can last that long, why can't an illegitimate private company last that long?

Seems to me that if the mafia has me by the balls, and it won't let go until my great great great grandchildren finally come around, then this really isn't much different from a place where I have to pay 35% of my income for the government to leave me alone.

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As any poker player should realize, there are no certainties, only probabilities. It's *likely* that legitimate, vouluntary businesses will outcompete violent, illegitimate businesses. However, there's more to it than just that. If a violent organization is big enough, it can very well crush the competition. We commonly refer to this condition as the "Death Star Objection" since you often see something like "Oh, well, what would AC do if the death star showed up? Huh?!" Obviously, "AC" would get blown to bits. But so would any state. Voluntary interations are not a magic bullet that automatically slay all thugs, stop all violence.

"illegitimate" governments can (and do) persist because lots of people feel they ARE legitimate. Just like the death star can blow Alderan to bits, the overwhelming number of people who buy into statism can easily steamroll those who seek liberty.

If you want to see some "empirical" data about legitimate businesses and illegitimate businesses competing head to head, you need look no further than Las Vegas. The mob ran all the casinos in town - until the government finally allowed corporate ownership of casinos. You can thank Howard Hughes.