Democracy of Dolts by Bill Bonner

Mr. Bonner sums things up pretty succinctly with these words....

When times are really good, government is an inevitable but amusing flim-flam. In small, annoying ways, government bosses around its citizens, pretending to do so for their own good – that is, as a ‘public service.’ When times are bad, government murders people – either its own citizens or those of some other government – again, for the good of those who are left living.

"Government," said George Washington, "is not reason. It is not eloquence. It is force."