[ianlippert]

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This is like saying guns are bad because they kill people. Government has it's uses, that's what I'm saying. You seem to imply that "educated and non-violent populace" is some sort of exogenous variable that we can just plug into the equation. The entire point of my argument is that some sort of governing institution is necessary to create this "educated and non-violent populace".



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I think you have this backwards. You are saying governments are good because they help people. Which is interesting but all im asking is some evidence supporting your theory. The point I was trying to make was that there is no correlation between 'government' and how that government treats its society. So there has to be some other variable. IMO governments are a reflection of the values of the people that put that government into power, how could it be otherwise? Government is the gun, and its the people that are responsible for how that it gets used.

If people are uneducated and violent where is this education and non-violence going to come from? 1st world governments have education and protection for property rights specifically because the majority of the population have these values. Get rid of government and these people still have these values.