Is Government Inevitable?

The quest for a stateless society is futile because the inevitable rule of the politically strong over the weak makes government also inevitable, argued Randall G. Holcombe in the Winter 2004 issue of The Independent Review. But the arguments Holcombe used to question the viability of libertarian anarchy can also be used to argue against the viability the limited government he favors, and the arguments he uses in favor of the viability of limited government also support the viability of anarchy.