Violence and politics - the twin foundation of even liberal democracies: Letter to the Editor

All politics, even that of the best, most humane, most liberal and democratic regimes, ultimately rests on the presupposition of violence. A quote often attributed to George Washington, but that lacks support for that attribution, according to the Quote Investigator , observes: “Government is not reason. It is not eloquence. Government is force, like fire, it is a dangerous servant -- and a fearful master.”

The traditional distinction between “politics” (bad, nasty!) and “government” (civil, virtuous!) has no documentable basis in reality, and the cop walking the beat is as much engaged in politics as the person running for president.

Politics is the art of obtaining and using the power of government. To put it another way, politics is the art of applied violence. It was not persuasive