Perhaps everyone will agree that if we were all angels, no state would be necessary, and if angels were the governors, they would require neither internal nor external constraints to ensure that they governed justly.
If Men Were Angels: The Basic Analytics of the State versus Self-Government
![The Journal of Libertarian Studies](https://cdn.mises.org/styles/responsive_4_3_650w/s3/static-page/img/jls_750x517_20230818_4.jpg.webp?itok=vxxtyv15 650w,https://cdn.mises.org/styles/responsive_4_3_870w/s3/static-page/img/jls_750x517_20230818_4.jpg.webp?itok=p-ULv9M7 870w,https://cdn.mises.org/styles/responsive_4_3_1090w/s3/static-page/img/jls_750x517_20230818_4.jpg.webp?itok=O1ijgKVd 1090w,https://cdn.mises.org/styles/responsive_4_3_1310w/s3/static-page/img/jls_750x517_20230818_4.jpg.webp?itok=PpCD2kdg 1310w,https://cdn.mises.org/styles/responsive_4_3_1530w/s3/static-page/img/jls_750x517_20230818_4.jpg.webp?itok=wvZo7bPH 1530w)
CITE THIS ARTICLE
Higgs, Robert. “If Men Were Angels: The Basic Analytics of the State versus Self-Government.” Journal of Libertarian Studies 21, No. 4 (2007): 55–68.