Henry David Thoreau said he heartily agreed with that Jeffersonian remark, “that government is best which governs least.”
He said, however, he’d go one better, believing “That government is best which governs not at all.”
Henry was, in truth and fact, a non-violent anarchist.
Some might think our current brand of green tea anarchists from mostly red states draw wisdom from Henry when enthusiastically shutting down the government – invoking the Affordable Care Act (ACA)(or Obamacare) as their pretext for what they’ve wanted to do ever since they’ve dominated the House Republican Caucus in the U.S. Congress and dictated what the Speaker may move to the floor for a vote.
But Henry’s no-government anarchism presumed a precondition, that would be satisfied “when men are prepared for it, [and then] that will be the kind of government which they will have.” Continue reading
