> Economists who see all government activities as coercion are basing their 
> view on an extremely abstract theory if not plain ideology.  Useful theory  
> sees government activity as essential to an advanced economy (although not  
> all governmental behavior will be good). 
 
This statement reflects a very narrow view of what is implied by the term  
"coercion."  Coercion is not a pejorative term.  The essence of  
government lies in the establishment of a system of laws (running the  
gamut from common and/or statute law to tax policy, etc.).  Law, in turn,  
is coercion, taking a sphere of action and establishing, within that  
sphere, rights, duties, liberties, exposures, ....  This is not  
ideological, it is simply what is.  Where the ideology can enter the   
picture is in the normative judgments as to who is to be allowed to  
coerce whom.  But where there is government, and thus a system of law,  
there is coercion, and, since the form that this coercion is allowed to  
take affects the allocation and distribution of resources, an  
understanding of the role that it plays is a good and proper part of  
economic analysis. 
 
Steven G. Medema 
University of Colorado at Denver