[MD] Down the road of mediocrity

[Case]

> [Case]
> Without government wealth would be redistributed on the basis of raw 
> force. Redistribution of wealth is what governments do, all governments.

[Platt]
Raw force? How so?

[Case]
The chief function of government is to establish the rules of social order.
These rules place constraints on the interactions of citizens. All social
economic and political activity is mediated through these rules. These rules
or laws form a kind of social ecology where variations on permissible
interactions work themselves out in daily life. 

All economic activity is centered around the redistribution of wealth.  I
have something you want. We make a trade. Wealth is redistributed. We engage
in such transactions based on established laws. What ever these laws are
they reflect the values of society. It is within the context of these laws
that entrepreneurs and working stiffs must decide how they can achieve their
personal and corporate goals.

Ultimately government has the power to compel compliance with its rules
through the use of force. It has nearly absolute power to do this. In our
particular system government is established through the consent of the
governed; We the People. 

Arguments over whether government has the "right" to do this are moot.
Arguments over how it should do this are settled through the political
process. There is cause for cynicism over the efficacy of the process but
this cynicism can only be resolved through the process itself. That is how
our system works or doesn't.