A night-watchman state, also referred to as a minimal state or minarchy, whose proponents are known as minarchists, is a model of a

state State most commonly refers to: * State (polity), a centralized political organization that regulates law and society within a territory **Sovereign state, a sovereign polity in international law, commonly referred to as a country **Nation state, a ...

that is limited and minimal, whose functions depend on

libertarian Libertarianism (from ; or from ) is a political philosophy that holds freedom, personal sovereignty, and liberty as primary values. Many libertarians believe that the concept of freedom is in accord with the Non-Aggression Principle, according ...

theory. Right-libertarians support it only as an enforcer of the non-aggression principle by providing citizens with the military, the police, and courts, thereby protecting them from

aggression Aggression is behavior aimed at opposing or attacking something or someone. Though often done with the intent to cause harm, some might channel it into creative and practical outlets. It may occur either reactively or without provocation. In h ...

, theft,

breach of contract Breach of contract is a legal cause of action and a type of civil wrong, in which a binding agreement or bargained-for exchange is not honored by one or more of the parties to the contract by non-performance or interference with the other part ...

, fraud, and enforcing

property law Property law is the area of law that governs the various forms of ownership in real property (land) and personal property. Property refers to legally protected claims to resources, such as land and personal property, including intellectual prope ...

s.Gregory, Anthony (May 10, 2004)
"The Minarchist's Dilemma"
''Strike the Root: A Journal of Liberty''. . Retrieved February 1, 2020.Peikoff, Leonard (March 7, 2011)
"What role should certain specific governments play in Objectivist government?"
. Peikoff.com. Retrieved January 2, 2020. In the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

, this

form of government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government is a m ...

is mainly associated with

and objectivist political philosophy. In other countries, minarchism is also advocated by some non-anarchist

libertarian socialists Libertarian socialism is an anti-authoritarian and anti-capitalist political current that emphasises self-governance and workers' self-management. It is contrasted from other forms of socialism by its rejection of state ownership and from other ...

and other left-libertarians.Hain, Peter (July/August 2000)
"Rediscovering our libertarian roots"
''Chartist''. . Retrieved February 1, 2020.Marshall, Peter (2009)

991 Year 991 (Roman numerals, CMXCI) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Julian calendar. Events * March 1: In Rouen, Pope John XV ratifies the first Peace and Truce of God, Truce of God, between Æthelred the Unready and Richard I o ...

'' Demanding the Impossible: A History of Anarchism'' (POLS ed.). Oakland, California: PM Press
p. 641
"Left libertarianism can therefore range from the decentralist who wishes to limit and devolve State power, to the syndicalist who wants to abolish it altogether. It can even encompass the Fabians and the social democrats who wish to socialize the economy but who still see a limited role for the State." . A night-watchman state has also been popularized by

Robert Nozick Robert Nozick (; November 16, 1938 – January 23, 2002) was an American philosopher. He held the Joseph Pellegrino Harvard University Professor, University Professorship at Harvard University,Anarchy, State, and Utopia ''Anarchy, State, and Utopia'' is a 1974 book by the American political philosopher Robert Nozick. It won the 1975 US National Book Award in category Philosophy and Religion, has been translated into 11 languages, and was named one of the "100 m ...

'' (1974). The

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

in the 19th century has been described by historian

Charles Townshend Charles Townshend (27 August 1725 – 4 September 1767) was a British politician who held various titles in the Parliament of Great Britain. His establishment of the controversial Townshend Acts is considered one of the key causes of the Amer ...

as a standard-bearer for this form of government.

Origin

As a term, ''night-watchman state'' () was coined by German

socialist Socialism is an economic ideology, economic and political philosophy encompassing diverse Economic system, economic and social systems characterised by social ownership of the means of production, as opposed to private ownership. It describes ...

Ferdinand Lassalle in an 1862 speech in Berlin wherein he criticized the

bourgeois The bourgeoisie ( , ) are a class of business owners, merchants and wealthy people, in general, which emerged in the Late Middle Ages, originally as a "middle class" between the peasantry and Aristocracy (class), aristocracy. They are tradition ...

-liberal

limited government In political philosophy, limited government is the concept of a government limited in power. It is a key concept in the history of liberalism.Amy Gutmann, "How Limited Is Liberal Government" in Liberalism Without Illusions: Essays on Liberal ...

state, comparing it to a nightwatchman. The phrase quickly caught on as a description of

capitalist Capitalism is an economic system based on the private ownership of the means of production and their use for the purpose of obtaining profit. This socioeconomic system has developed historically through several stages and is defined by ...

government, even as liberalism began to mean a more involved state, or a state with a larger sphere of responsibility.

Ludwig von Mises Ludwig Heinrich Edler von Mises (; ; September 29, 1881 – October 10, 1973) was an Austrian-American political economist and philosopher of the Austrian school. Mises wrote and lectured extensively on the social contributions of classical l ...

later opined that Lassalle tried to make limited government look ridiculous though it was no more ridiculous than governments that concerned themselves with "the preparation of sauerkraut, with the manufacture of trouser buttons, or with the publication of newspapers". Proponents of the night-watchman state are ''minarchists'', a portmanteau of ''minimum'' and ''-archy''. ''

Arche In philosophy and science, a first principle is a basic proposition or assumption that cannot be deduced from any other proposition or assumption. First principles in philosophy are from first cause attitudes and taught by Aristotelians, and nuan ...

'' (; ) is a Greek word which came to mean "first place, power", "method of government", "empire, realm", "authorities" (in plural: ), or "command". The term ''minarchist'' was coined by

Samuel Edward Konkin III Samuel Edward Konkin III (July 8, 1947 – February 23, 2004), also known as SEK3, was a Canadian-American libertarian philosopher and Austrian school economist. As the author of the publication ''New Libertarian Manifesto'', he was a proponen ...

in 1980.

Philosophy

Right-libertarian Right-libertarianism,Rothbard, Murray (1 March 1971)"The Left and Right Within Libertarianism". ''WIN: Peace and Freedom Through Nonviolent Action''. 7 (4): 6–10. Retrieved 14 January 2020.Goodway, David (2006). '' Anarchist Seeds Beneath the ...

minarchists generally justify the state as a logical consequence of the non-aggression principle. They argue that

anarcho-capitalism Anarcho-capitalism (colloquially: ancap or an-cap) is a political philosophy and economic theory that advocates for the abolition of centralized states in favor of stateless societies, where systems of private property are enforced by pri ...

is impractical because it is not sufficient to enforce the non-aggression principle, as the enforcement of laws under anarchy would be open to competition. Another common objection to anarchism is that private defense and court firms would tend to represent the interests of those who pay them enough. Left-libertarian minarchists justify the state as a temporary measure on the grounds that

social safety net A social safety net (SSN) consists of non-contributory assistance existing to improve lives of vulnerable families and individuals experiencing poverty and destitution. Examples of SSNs are previously-contributory social pensions, in-kind and foo ...

benefits the working class. Some anarchists, such as

Noam Chomsky Avram Noam Chomsky (born December 7, 1928) is an American professor and public intellectual known for his work in linguistics, political activism, and social criticism. Sometimes called "the father of modern linguistics", Chomsky is also a ...

, are in agreement with

social democrats Social democracy is a social, economic, and political philosophy within socialism that supports political and economic democracy and a gradualist, reformist, and democratic approach toward achieving social equality. In modern practice, s ...

on the importance of welfare measures, but prefer using non-state methods. Left-libertarians such as

Peter Hain Peter Gerald Hain, Baron Hain, (born 16 February 1950), is a British politician who served as Secretary of State for Northern Ireland from 2005 to 2007, Secretary of State for Work and Pensions from 2007 to 2008 and twice as Secretary of State ...

are decentralists who do not advocate abolishing the state, but do wish to limit and devolve state power, stipulating that any measures favoring the wealthy be prioritized for repeal before those which benefit the poor.Richman, Sheldon (February 3, 2011)
"Libertarian Left: Free-market anti-capitalism, the unknown ideal"
''The American Conservative''. . Retrieved March 5, 2012. " eft-libertariansprefer that corporate privileges be repealed ''before'' the regulatory restrictions on how those privileges may be exercised." Some minarchists argue that a state is inevitable because anarchy is futile.

'' (1974), argued that a night-watchman state provides a framework that allows for any political system that respects fundamental

individual rights Individual rights, also known as natural rights, are rights held by individuals by virtue of being human. Some theists believe individual rights are bestowed by God. An individual right is a moral claim to freedom of action. Group rights, also k ...

and therefore morally justifies the existence of a state.

References

Notes

Bibliography

* Machan, Tibor R. (December 2002). "Anarchism and Minarchism. A Rapprochement". ''Journal des Economists et des Estudes Humaines''. 14 (4): 569–588. * Nozick, Robert (1974). ''Anarchy, State, and Utopia''. New York City: Basic Books. * Ostrowski, Marius S. (2014). "Towards libertarian welfarism: protecting agency in the night-watchman state". ''Journal of Political Ideologies''. 13 (1): 107–128. * Wolff, Jonathan (1991). ''Robert Nozick: Property, Justice, and the Minimal State''. Cambridge, England: Polity Press.

External links

"Market Anarchism as Constitutionalism"
by Roderick T. Long
"Chaos Theory: Two Essays on Market Anarchy"
by Robert P. Murphy
''Robert Nozick and the Immaculate Conception of the State''
by Murray Rothbard {{political philosophy Criticism of capitalism Ferdinand Lassalle Libertarian terms Libertarian theory

Minarchism A night-watchman state, also referred to as a minimal state or minarchy, whose proponents are known as minarchists, is a model of a state that is limited and minimal, whose functions depend on libertarian theory. Right-libertarians support it ...

Libertarianism in the United States Minarchism Political terminology Political systems