The ideological root of statism (or collectivism) is the tribal premise of
primordial savages who, unable to conceive of individual rights, believed that
the tribe is a supreme, omnipotent ruler, that it owns the lives of its members
and may sacrifice them whenever it pleases to whatever it deems to be its own
“good.” Unable to conceive of any social principles, save the rule of brute
force, they believed that the tribe’s wishes are limited only by its physical
power and that other tribes are its natural prey, to be conquered, looted,
enslaved, or annihilated. The history of all primitive peoples is a succession
of tribal wars and intertribal slaughter. That this savage ideology now rules
nations armed with nuclear weapons, should give pause to anyone concerned with
mankind’s survival.
Statism is a system of institutionalized violence and perpetual civil war. It
leaves men no choice but to fight to seize political power—to rob or be
robbed, to kill or be killed. When brute force is the only criterion of social
conduct, and unresisting surrender to destruction is the only alternative, even
the lowest of men, even an animal—even a cornered rat—will fight. There can
be no peace within an enslaved nation.