Means of protection
A
means of protection is some contract or guarantee of security for
body or
property. It is usually achieved, in a modern
state society, by agreeing to some
social contract including a
monopoly on violence, e.g. placing
police and
military powers under the control of an authority obeying some predictable theory of
civics that guarantees such protection.
This term is particularly relevant to
anarchism and
minarchy, where no monopoly on violence may exist, or where it may not have powers to intervene in all situations, e.g. it may protect body but take no position as to 'property'.
A means of protection is particularly important when considering a
means of production,
infrastructural capital, or
natural resources as a social asset. Without such means, anyone can confiscate and use the asset.
When a private party threatens harm for the specific purpose of offering some means of protection later, this is a
protection racket - a serious
crime in most
legal codes.
See also:
use value,
exchange value,
means of persuasion
