xiv Preface
murderMax’s wife,Max’s paymentto Luckyfor thatgrislyservicewouldalsobe a
commercialexchange.Equatingcapitalismwithcommercialexchange,the welfare-state
proponentsaysthatslavetradersandhit menpracticecapitalism,whichgoesto show
thatcapitalismis not morallysuperiorto governism.Yet thatargumentarrivesthrough
misunderstanding.Capitalistfree enterpriseentailsthateachpersonbe free to enterprise
peaceably.Thatmeanseachpersonmustmaintainpossessionoverhis or her ownmost
importantcapitalasset—his or her ownlife. WhenMaxpaysfor the murderof his wife
andsellsAkunsintoslavery,thoseactionsdepriveMax’s wifeandAkunsof theirown
respectivefreedomto enterprise,andtherebyrob Max’s wifeandAkunsof thatcapital
assetwhichis theirownbodilyautonomy.Therefore,commercialexchangesthatinvolve
spoliationdo not countas purecapitalism.
Othertermsfor a societythatfollowsthe Ruleof Peaceareliberalizationandliberalism,
and someonewhoadvocatessucha societyis sometimescalledaliberal. Thesetermsmust
be qualifiedas well.Throughoutthe early1800s,supportersof the nightwatchmanstate
wereknownasliberals, as theysupportedliberty, the wordfromwhichliberalderived.In
the latenineteenth-centuryEngland,though,someopponentsof the nightwatchman
state,suchas LeonardHobhouse,beganto touttheirowngovernismas a new,better
liberalism.In short,Britishgovernistsco-optedthe wordliberalism, andso too did the
USA’s governistsby the 1930s.As I writethis trilogy,it happensthatwhenan American
referstoliberalism, it is usuallythe casethathe or she meansnot the Ruleof PeacethatI
favor,but the Rule’s opposite—governism.Exceptin caseswhereI specifyotherwise,
though,almostany timethis bookusesliberalorliberalism, it will referrespectivelyto free-
marketersand capitalism.And,as shallbe explicatedthroughoutthe bookyou presently
read,socialDarwinismis not amongthe synonymsfor the nightwatchmanstate.
A nightwatchmanstateis aboutstoppingspoliation—stoppingthe initiationof the
use of force.To initiatethe use of forceis to violateindividualrights.Theseindividual
rightsare whatI christenLockeanrights—the rightsto life, liberty,and privateproperty,as
identifiedby JohnLockein the 1680s.As Lockeconstructedmuchof the foundationfor
the philosophyof the nightwatchmanstate,the theoryandpracticeof it can alsobe
dubbedLockeanism.
To be sure,no society—not eventhatof the UnitedStates—is, or everhas been,per-
fectlyLockean.Everysocietyhas hadsomefreedomof enterprisein someplacesbut
intrusivegovernmentcontrolsin others.Thetermfor this unstablemixtureof freedom
and controlsismixedeconomy. Althougheverysocietyis a mixedeconomy,someare more
governistthanothers.Themostextrememanifestationsof governismincludeNaziism
andcommunism.Absolutemonarchywasanotherextremeversionof governism.Less
extreme,but still daunting,are socialism,Progressivism,andthe regulatory-entitlement
state,which,as we shalllearnthroughoutthis work,are frequentlybut incorrectlyheld
up as morallyexemplaryfoilsto socialDarwinism,eugenics,and Naziism.
Alsosignificantto the matteris republicanism.A republicis a representativegovern-
mentin whichcitizensexercisethe abilityto votefor publicofficials.On accountof a
republicmaintainingcitizensuffrage,fromthe twentiethcenturyonwardpoliticalscien-
tistshaveusuallyequivocatedrepublicanismwithdemocracy,sayingthata republicis a
specifictypeof democracy.Thatequivocation,though,provesmisleading.Democracy,in
its undilutedform,allowsfor citizensto voteon anythingand everything—theycan go as
far as votingon whethera philosophershouldbe killedby the State,simplybecausethat
philosopherannoyedpeople.Startingin the twentiethcentury,politicalscientistspointed
out that in a republic,not everymeasureis put to a votebut that,rather,citizensdelegate
votingauthorityto specificrepresentativesto voteon whatlegislationshouldor should
not be implemented.But suchpoliticalscientistsomitmentionof anotherimportantdis-
tinction.It is that a republicis governedby a charterwhichspellsout importantprinciples