To understand how government went wrong, we must understand what it is. Government dominates our lives; it is at the center of most news and most public discussion. And yet not one person in a hundred can explain what we mean by “government,” and no school or textbook bothers to provide a precise definition.

What is government? What makes it different from IBM or the Boy Scouts or a local security company? What is there about government that enables it to do what other organizations can’t?

When a reformer decides that everyone must have health insurance or that every worker should have “family leave,” why doesn’t he take his project to a church group or the Chamber of Commerce? Why does he turn to government?

No. General Motors alone had revenues of $543 billion in 2004. And in 1995 Pacific Bell announced that it would raise $16 billion to rewire the entire state of California to accommodate the information “superhighway.” Even larger companies than these could be organized if they were needed.

No — so do the Salvation Army, the Rotary Club, Church groups and thousands of other organizations.

Is it that government cares more about the future than private companies do?

Hardly. A corporation may last for centuries. Its management enhances today’s stock price by building tomorrow’s earnings, because almost any investor will prefer a stock that’s likely to pay dividends for 50 years over a stock whose dividends may end in 10 years. But politicians have little interest in anything beyond the next election.

Is it that government is the only institution that considers the well-being of all citizens?

No institution can do that — and certainly not government. Anything government gives to one group must be taken from others. So government  plays favorites, government picks winners and losers, which divides people into opposing camps.

What separates government from the rest of society isn’t its size, its disregard for profit, its foresight, or its scope. The distinctive feature of government is coercion — the use of force and the threat of force to win obedience. This is how government differs from every other agency in society. The others persuade; government compels.

When someone demands that government help flood victims, he is saying he wants to force people to pay for flood relief. Otherwise, he’d be happy to have the a charity or the Red Cross handle everything.

When someone wants government to limit the price of a product, he is asking to use force to prevent people from paying more for something they want. Otherwise, he would simply urge people not to patronize those he thinks are charging too much.

When Congress passes a bill mandating “family leave,” it forces every company to provide time off for family problems — even if its employees want the employer to use payroll money for some other benefit. Otherwise, employers and employees would be free to decide what works best in each situation.

Nothing involving government is voluntary — as it would be when a private company does something. One way or another, there is compulsion in every government activity:

· The government forces someone to pay for something;

· The government forces someone to do something; or

· The government forcibly prevents someone from doing something.

There is no other reason to involve government. And by “force” I mean the real thing — the kind that hurts people.

In some government agencies, such as the police and prisons, the role of coercion is obvious. But it is at work in every government program — although a program’s supporters rarely acknowledge it. If this seems like too sweeping a statement, it may be that you’ve never tried to resist a government program. If you did, you’d have learned very quickly that the program is enforced by a gun. The easiest way to spot the gun is to imagine what would happen if you decided to ignore the government’s “request.”

Suppose, for example, that you’re a barber. One day the state Board of Tonsorial Cutters of Hair (BOTCH) issues a regulation to stop “cut-throat competition” — decreeing that no barber can charge less than $8 for a haircut. (Many states do have laws prohibiting barbers from charging less than a stated minimum price.)

So long as you charge at least $8, you won’t even notice the regulation. Suppose your price is only $6. Perhaps you’re in a low-income neighborhood where people can’t afford $8 haircuts, or maybe your shop is new and you want to attract customers, or perhaps business is slow and you need to stimulate sales.

For whatever reason, suppose you offer haircuts for $6. You may be able to get away with this for a month or two. But eventually the bureaucrats at BOTCH will send you a letter, ordering you to desist. If you comply by boosting your price to $8, you’ll hear nothing more. But if you keep cutting hair for $6, eventually some men in suits will come to your shop and warn you to stop undercharging.

If you continue to ignore the law, you’ll receive a subpoena — telling you to appear in court. If you don’t show up, or if you ignore the court’s order to raise your price, your barber’s license will be revoked. If you defy the court by continuing to cut hair, another group of men will come to your shop. These fellows may not be in suits, and they probably will have guns. They will be there to close your business. If you resist, their job will be to “take you into custody” — which is a euphemism for seizing you, handcuffing you, and taking you to jail against your will.

Every government program, no matter how benign it may appear, is the same. Coercion is the reason — and the only reason — it is a government program.  If you say "No" the government will point a gun at you and kill you.  Once you are gone, there will be no one around to fight the government as they take your property.  

The IRS likes to say that our tax system is based on voluntary compliance. In a sense, that’s true: so long as you comply, the system seems to be voluntary. But the moment you choose not to comply, you’ll find yourself in a different system — one where you’ll be forced to pay.

People seek the help of business groups, charity organizations, and service clubs to urge others to support some cause. People turn to government to force others to support their cause.

Now, you may believe that government should set prices for haircuts and other things — or that it should force people to do what’s good for them or what’s good for society. But those are other issues. Before we can address them, we first need to recognize the simple truth that every government program and regulation is backed by the same kind of force that is so useful for robbing your local convince store. Only then will we understand why government programs turn out as they do and how government has come to where it is today.

Think through any government activity. Eventually, you’ll find the coercion that keeps it from being anything but a government program.

So what is government? Very simply, it is an agency of coercion. Of course, there are other agencies of coercion — such as the Mafia. So to be more precise, government is the agency of coercion that has flags in front of its offices.

Or, to put it another way, government is society’s dominant producer of coercion. The Mafia and independent bandits are merely fringe competitors —seeking to take advantage of the niches and nooks neglected by the government.