The Terrorism of the State

It has been said that the greatest threat to our liberty is that of global terrorism. I would agree, but with a serious reservation. When we think of terrorism, we usually think of Muslim fanatics, Central-American death squads or maybe radical animal-rights activists. However, groups like these can never be a threat to our liberty as a whole, since they only have the support of a very small part of the population, a minority that is unlikely to grow so large as to pose a serious threat.

These groups are of course a serious threat to the individual, and should be treated as such, but for a terrorist group to ever pose a serious threat to liberty itself, they have to gain the support of a large portion of the population – although it could be argued that the actions of al-Qaeda on 9/11 caused panicking American politicians, lacking a serious devotion to liberty, to do more harm to liberty in the United States than any terrorist organization could ever do on its own.

What then is terrorism? For an act to be an act of terror, there are four criteria that must all be fulfilled – the act must be violent, it must be designed to cause fear, it must be perpetrated for an ideological purpose and it must deliberately and willfully target civilians.

Keeping this definition in mind, let us examine the State. In order to do that, we must first make sure there are no misconceptions. The State is not the same as society. Society is a social network of individuals freely associating with each other; the State is, in the words of leftist anarchist Murray Bookchin, the professional apparatus of people who are set aside to manage society, and to preempt the control of society from the people.

Remembering the definitions of terrorism and the State, let us examine one act that all States perpetrate – the collection of taxes from its citizens. Could this act fulfill the criteria of a terrorist act?

Is it a violent act? Yes, it is. By definition, when something is taken from you without your permission, that is an act of violence.

Is it designed to cause fear? Yes, it is. If you refuse to pay taxes, the IRS will confiscate your property and/or put you in prison.

Is it perpetrated for an ideological purpose? Yes, it is. Taxes are most often collected under the guise of providing us with some service that the State thinks we need, and which they believe we are unable to provide for ourselves. More often than not taxes are also collected to bridge the gap between the haves and the have-nots by taking money from one group and giving to another.

Does is deliberately and willfully target civilians? Yes, it does.

In this light, what is the State if not a terrorist organization, and the most dangerous of all, since its terror is accepted by virtually everyone as being not only just, but virtuous?