Libertarian FAQ: Won't these ideas work only if everybody is good?

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This article is from the Libertarian FAQ, by Joe Dehn jwd3@dehnbase.fidonet.org, Robert Bickford rab.AT.daft.com, Mike Huben mhuben@world.std.com and Advocates for Self-Government http://www.self-gov.org/ with numerous contributions by others.

66 Libertarian FAQ: Won't these ideas work only if everybody is good?

You don't have to believe people are always good for freedom to work.
Most people, most of the time, deal with each other on the libertarian
premise of respect for the rights of others. You don't want to be
pushed around or to push your neighbors around. You don't steal, cheat
or mug people. Very few among us commit all the crime. Society would
collapse if most people were evil most of the time.

If people are basically evil, the last thing you'd want is a big
government staffed by those evil folks exercising control over you.
[1] -- David Bergland

[1] "Liberty Communicator Course," Advocates for Self-Government,
1988.