Rob Weir on government power vs. private power

Q: Do libertarians not agree that private power is (or at the very least, has the potential to be) equally as oppressive as government?  I don't understand this blindspot.

A: Would you acknowledge that, in theory at least, all the oxygen molecules in the room could simultaneously move into a single small portion of the corner of the room, leaving the rest of the room with just nitrogen and carbon dioxide, causing everyone in the room to immediately suffocate and die?

Talking about theoretical potential is quite a different thing than talking about reality, actual historical experience, and real-world odds.  In theory, I could drown in a bowl of soup. In reality, more people would die than would be saved if we banned soup.

In the real world, almost no one dies from the oppressive operation of private power.  In the real world, in the 20th century alone, 262 million people were killed by their own governments. 

Let’s get real here.  There is zero comparison between deaths from government versus from private powers. A company that screws up tends to go bankrupt and is essentially removed from power.  A government that screws up murders millions.

~ Rob Weir, Quora, November 11, 2019