anne applebaum is one of the best opinion writers. this column seems like it's specifically written to tick me off, though. the problem isn't terrorism or whatever; it's 'illegitimism,' the 'insane' position that, for example, the government of norway is not legitimate. course i've spent a chunk of my authorship arguing for illegitimism. all i can say is i'm not taking the blame either! and of course, there's quite a distance between the idea that the government is illegitimate and strapping up and heading to the youth camp. there's nothing violent (or, i think, insane) about the critique of state power per se. look i can prove it, more or less: william lloyd garrison, adin ballou, and leo tolstoy all denied the legitimacy of government on pacifist grounds.
you might ponder the question: which has unleashed more mayhem on the world, illegitimism or legitimism?
