The original premise was "that which governs close, governs best." so even the state too, is responsible for protection only. (today we also have coordinated infrastructure costs)

But most of the governing or (cooperation) goes from neighborhoods, to communities- ex. towns and cities.
That is where most of our efforts, taxes, etc, should be concentrated.
And...if you don't like it, it is easier to just vote with your feet.

The issue of rights and civil liberties when written about by Rand is very easy to understand. If anyone is confused by it, grab your Ayn Rand Lexicon and it will be like a polarizing filter on a photo. The problem is, the very clarity of those subjects has been obfuscated to the point of utter confusion by the left so that simple concepts have been clouded like the Shadow does to men's minds.

The additional comment that I would make to that excellent and insightful article is that many technologies have passed through a big business phase and are now in (or approaching) a disseminated phase.

It used to be that you could not publish a book unless you convinced a publisher to do so; then - as publishing got less expensive - people could pay to have their book published. Now, you can self-publish on the internet for free.

Power still primarily goes through big business electrical lines and sewage is piped miles to be processed, but solar power and self-processing house-sized systems are making high tech sufficiency more plausible.

3D printers are the next step. They will eventually allow the production of goods, clothes, and probably even some food locally. You will have to be supplied with the basic materials cartridges for the 3D printer, but you will be able to print a toaster...and you will never wear 'your favorite shirt' out, because you can just print up another copy of it.

Jan

We have to change the philosophy of the country,
by converting the population. This will take time.
A long time.
One problem I have is that people seem to think
that it is only the Federal government which needs to be restricted. I agree, it has over-
reached, and should be put in its place, but I
don't want citizens to handed over to their state
governments as serfs, either. I want govern-
ment, as such, to be cut and put in its place.

In our country ALL government employees (otherwise known as civil SERVANTS) support ALL the other government employees. ALL government employees will not jeopardize their individual positions by saying another government employee has done something wrong. So when one government employee takes it upon him/her self to impose their will on an individuals civil liberty the government employee more often than not gets away with it.
It is just the way things are today. Money is singularly not even remotely a question for government employees. As my proof I offer you the entirety of the government of the usa!!!!

Our protection from government is constant change that it cant keep up with.

Ya got THAT right!!

Indeed

And I am sure Rand was aware, even at the time, of how the left, progressives,.. had confounded the meanings of words, so yes, one must be precise.

Rand said something like 'Proper definitions and use of words and terms is the first line of defense of Reason.'
That's particularly true when dealing with Rights and the concept of 'Civil Liberties' vs Natural Individual Rights.
If one is confused about what rights are and where they originate, then it's easier to be convinced to give them up.