What "Trailer Park Boys" Can Teach Us About State Police

I was sitting with my wife watching the excellent Canadian sitcom “Trailer Park Boys” the other night and a particular story line really brought home the reality of state police to me. In the episode in question the drunk trailer park supervisor Jim Lahey (who was thrown out of the police force a few years previous) decides to wear his old police uniform and act like he's back on the force. He drives around drunk harassing the residents and even constructs a make-shift jail to contain those who don't submit to his demands. The episode is hilarious and quite slapstick but it is a good analogy for state police. Why? Because they too are people who adorn costumes and assume that the costume gives them some kind authority over ordinary people in some real way.

I start from the premise that the only valid interactions are voluntary ones. I have not given my consent to the laws imposed upon me by the state so I see no reason to recognise them. Now obviously I agree with things like don't kill and rape and steal but I don't need pages of written laws to know that. Those are covered by the non-aggression principle and respect for property rights. So I don't need people in costumes who call themselves police to enforce illegitimate laws like taxes (which is theft) or victimless crimes like smoking a joint.

The funny thing about the episode is that (we assume) that the trailer park residents have signed up to Jim Lahey being the park supervisor voluntarily. So it follows that he would actually have more authority than the state police because his authority would not be imposed on people without consent.

Sure, you could say that by living in this country then I consent to be policed. But that doesn't change the fact that non-voluntary interactions are by their nature coercive and furthermore where can I go to escape governmental goons in costumes? Am I supposed to buy my own island on my Postman's salary? Look, just because someone has on a costume given to them by an extremely organised crime gang calling themselves government doesn't give them the right to tell you what you can and can't do on your property, or tell you what you can and can't put in your own body. It doesn't give them the right to stop others from stealing but enforce theft by government and it certainly doesn't give them the right to kidnap you and lock you in a cage for asserting your right to voluntary interaction.
 

One only has to look at the great work done by Murray Rothbard or Stefan Molyneux (among many others) to see how private police would not only be more effective but wouldn't waste time and resources on victimless crimes such as drug use. Policing should be voluntary and their only function should be to deal with those who violate the non-aggression principle and property rights – nothing more.
 

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Trailer Park Boys (Wikipedia)

Writings, audio and video by Murray Rothbard @ mises.org

Stefan Molyneux / Freedomain Radio