Why do we need a centralized power to protect us from this and secondly why would they act in our interest? Why would they not be [susceptible] to this same kind of greed? And why would giving them or anyone a monopoly be a good thing? Most importantly why would they do a better job vs a firm that had to compete and provide a good service?
The paradox, the gremlin in the woodpile, is that without a stable central authority, we are laid bare to the depredations of an arriviste ruler or junta. "Better the devil we know than the one we don't" is a platitude, but it does seem to hold a lot of truth about human psychology, individually and in group.
As for using the market as the leveler ... the issue i see there is that competing corporate entities are not in a stable situation. The analogy is someone balancing a tall pole vertically. Without constant tiny corrections, the pole will tilt, then accelerate toward a stable position, with a probable loud noise and curse from the balancer.
Leaving the analogy, multiple interests competing equally are unstable by nature and tend to coalesce as a strong one emerges and gobbles up the competitors. My casual study of history supports this. One needs some superposed authority that can tell the wannabe dominator: Stop. Thus the ancient longing for a philosopher king: unassailable yet incorrupt authority.
Since "anarchy" parses etymologically as "no rule", I consider it utopian. cn
