The Police State

Whether or not race is a factor, the monopoly power enjoyed by police agencies (and other government agencies) creates the conditions likely to lead to more abuse of power.

The political machines that run America's cities are likely to keep running them when these protests and riots end. Taxpayers will be worse off, but politicians will be even more powerful.

Some police officers are able to easily get rehired by law enforcement agencies even though they were forced out of other departments for misconduct. That's a problem.

The Left believes that we need the state to force people to act in line with "social justice." This means that somebody must force compliance with state edicts, even if those people aren't called "police."

Who has the best claim to government property?

Not all (or even most) police are needlessly violent. But it is rational to conclude, upon seeing a person in a police uniform, that this person can—if he wishes to—abuse his power with near impunity.

We already employ a wide variety of nonpolice crime deterrent strategies, from private gun ownership to security cameras to private security. Meanwhile, in spite of the proliferation of police and police departments, crime, rioting, and looting endure.

The political machines that run America's cities are likely to keep running them when these protests and riots end. Taxpayers will be worse off, but politicians will be even more powerful.

COVID lockdowns (1) threw millions out of work, (2) increased police harassment of peaceful people, (3) cut people off from key institutions that reduce social conflict. This made a volatile situation far worse.