When I say government, I am actually referring to what you refer to as voluntaryist society.

We aren't really at odds then, at all.

I'm not conflating taxation with "government as we know it" -- I'm saying that "government as we have known it has the defacto unopposed power to INITIATE COERCION, and that makes it a criminal organization. Forcible taxation is only one of the symptoms, but I emphasize it because THAT's where the money comes from (until Fiat enters the picture) to do every OTHER coercive thing that government does.

If you privitize security, for instance, you are replacing a elected Sheriff with an unelected corporate entity. This means, the security entity will have no way to be held accountable by the people. Thats the difference at every level between private and small government.

In fact, private groups can be, and often are, democratic -- groups ranging from neighborhood associations to large corporations can utilize voting and elections to chose policies and personnel. Likewise, non-government groups can hold meetings to challenge elected officials and remove them if they so decide. I don't see this being any worse in terms of outcomes than the government elections we have now; if anything, the opposite seems true.

As for government powers in the Constitution that we could do without, my lodestar is always twofold: 1- Does it initiate coercion (force, threats, or fraud -- the last isn't always in definitions of coercion, but it belongs, in my opinion) against peaceful human beings, and 2- Are people willing to pay for it voluntarily. EDIT: Naturally, by "voluntarily" I mean that anyone does NOT feel an action is worth paying for, for whatever reason, is not forced to chip in. "Pay for your own damn wars", for an obvious example.

When I say government, I am actually referring to what you refer to as voluntaryist society.

We aren't really at odds then, at all.

I'm not conflating taxation with "government as we know it" -- I'm saying that "government as we have known it has the defacto unopposed power to INITIATE COERCION, and that makes it a criminal organization. Forcible taxation is only one of the symptoms, but I emphasize it because THAT's where the money comes from (until Fiat enters the picture) to do every OTHER coercive thing that government does.

If you privitize security, for instance, you are replacing a elected Sheriff with an unelected corporate entity. This means, the security entity will have no way to be held accountable by the people. Thats the difference at every level between private and small government.

In fact, private groups can be, and often are, democratic -- groups ranging from neighborhood associations to large corporations can utilize voting and elections to chose policies and personnel. Likewise, non-government groups can hold meetings to challenge elected officials and remove them if they so decide. I don't see this being any worse in terms of outcomes than the government elections we have now; if anything, the opposite seems true.

As for government powers in the Constitution that we could do without, my lodestar is always twofold: 1- Does it initiate coercion (force, threats, or fraud -- the last isn't always in definitions of coercion, but it belongs in my opinion) against peaceful human beings, and 2- Are people willing to pay for it voluntarily.