Night-watchman state

A night-watchman state, also referred to as a minimal state or minarchy, whose proponents are known as minarchists, is a model of a <a href="/facts/State_(polity)/7ggBzTSk">state</a> that is limited and minimal, whose functions depend on <a href="/facts/Libertarian/IWNllND8">libertarian</a> theory. <a href="/facts/Right-libertarians/LV2Tlgsa">Right-libertarians</a> support it only as an enforcer of the <a href="/facts/Non-aggression_principle/TdpXIE44">non-aggression principle</a> by providing citizens with the military, the police, and courts, thereby protecting them from <a href="/facts/Aggression/deWEwTyk">aggression</a>, theft, <a href="/facts/Breach_of_contract/KnlrmdBQ">breach of contract</a>, fraud, and enforcing <a href="/facts/Property_law/Ld8Fq4DK">property laws</a>.
In the <a href="/facts/United_States/P0sCdLe5">United States</a>, this <a href="/facts/Form_of_government/N4bYL0VC">form of government</a> is mainly associated with <a href="/facts/Libertarianism_in_the_United_States/rpdKURre">libertarian</a> and <a href="/facts/Objectivist/ncVacNjX">objectivist</a> political philosophy. In other countries, minarchism is also advocated by some non-anarchist <a href="/facts/Libertarian_socialists/BICo0Hq1">libertarian socialists</a> and other <a href="/facts/Left-libertarians/X97aVJ68">left-libertarians</a>. A night-watchman state has also been popularized by <a href="/facts/Robert_Nozick/WXNoFABG">Robert Nozick</a> in <a href="/facts/Anarchy,_State,_and_Utopia/YXR7FdCp">Anarchy, State, and Utopia</a> (1974). The <a href="/facts/United_Kingdom_of_Great_Britain_and_Ireland/yw0GUkge">United Kingdom</a> in the 19th century has been described by historian <a href="/facts/Charles_Townshend_(historian)/oFLDxbyL">Charles Townshend</a> as a standard-bearer for this form of government.

Night-watchman state open-in-new

Night-watchman state