Effective non-excludability
Individuals cannot be effectively excluded from receiving the relevant benefit.
THE THEORY OF MINIMAL TOLERANCE
When may coercion
be tolerated?
A theory of power and legitimacy
Power is tolerated Not legitimized Only under exceptional conditions
The State may be tolerated only as an institutional technology of last resort.
THE THEORY
The Premises
Minimal Tolerance begins from two premises: the State lacks intrinsic moral legitimacy, and state action is constrained by structural informational and economic limitations.
State coercion therefore requires justification rather than presumption. The burden of proof rests entirely with those proposing intervention.
Continue ReadingTHE FORMAL TEST
The Minimal Tolerance Theorem
Coercion may be considered only when three conditions are simultaneously satisfied.
Relevant non-rivalry
One person receiving the benefit does not meaningfully reduce its availability to others.
Persistent voluntary collapse
Stable voluntary provision remains structurally unviable.
THE BOOK
Power, Tolerance and Legitimacy
A book-length examination of coercion, political authority and the institutional limits of power.
Discover the BookSSRN PREPRINT
Read the Foundational Paper
The formal statement of the theorem and the narrow conditions under which state coercion may be tolerated.
Open on SSRN