People tend to think of a fair justice system as one of the cornerstones of a free and flourishing society. Yet most of us are resigned to the idea that it can only be delivered at the hands of the state. Rather than just accepting the status quo, perhaps we should question whether states are appropriate administrators of justice at all, and instead consider whether a state-free or libertarian approach to justice could work.The word “justice” comes from the Latin jus, meaning “right” or “law.” The Oxford English Dictionary defines the “just” person as one who “does what is morally right” and is disposed to “giving everyone his or her due.” Meanwhile, most people conceive of the state as a sovereign organization that exercises control over a defined territory without interference and on

Government and state are terms typically used synonymously these days. But if a state is an institution with a monopoly on the allowable use of aggression in a given territory, is a government always this as well? We know governing is needed in lots of private non-monopoly-wielding institutions, from large manufacturing corporations to local tennis clubs.

Modern minds are so oriented toward state power that people often fail to understand there is a better way. Instead of “thinking outside the box,” we should think outside the state.
Original Article: Thinking outside the State

It’s difficult to go very far these days without tripping over the state with its voluminous laws, regulations, departments, and agencies. The last few decades, and indeed the last few centuries, have seen the continual expansion of states into more and more aspects of our lives with both the left and right of politics having their own grand visions for its development. But is the state really the institution we ought to be banking on for our future, or is it time to consider how we can organize and solve problems without it?
When we talk about the state, most people conceive of a sovereign organization that exercises control over a defined territory without interference and on behalf of its citizens. Through its sovereignty it sets its own agendas, and through its control it is free to