link to original reddit post by /u/Syracus_
Many countries are failed states. They have a very weak and effectively powerless government. The people in these countries aren't oppressed by the state in any meaningful way relative to the rest of the planet. They have extremely low tax rates, little to no regulations, and almost no military/police/surveillance power.
Why are all these countries in terrible shape ? Not a single one is prosperous. Not a single one has good scores when it comes to human rights and living conditions. No one would look at the people living in these countries and say that they are "free". Let alone "the freest in the world".
If the absence of state is the key to economic prosperity and individual freedom, why are these countries among the poorest on earth ? Despite many of them having rich deposits of natural resources. Why are the people there not the freest on earth ? Why aren't there any libertarians moving to these countries to be free of state oppression ?
And comparatively, why do most of the richest countries on earth have very strong governments ?
Why is government power so tightly correlated with economic prosperity ?