Cognitive Scaffold

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MENTAL MODEL · M1367

Night-watchman State

Night-watchman State
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Version 1.0.0 · Updated 2026-07-28

CORE DEFINITION

The night-watchman state (English: night-watchman state) is a form of state characterized by a small government. In a night-watchman state, the sole role of the government is to ensure, through the military, police, and courts, that every citizen adheres to the non-aggression principle, protecting them from aggression, theft, breach of contract, fraud, and interference with property laws. Its proponents are collectively called minarchists. This type of polity is closely related to American libertarianism, Objectivism, and right-libertarianism, but libertarian socialists and left-libertarians, other than anarchists, also support minarchism. Some anarchists and left-libertarians believe that a social safety net is only a short-term goal for the working class. In the long run, once the state and capitalism are overthrown, it will no longer be needed. Therefore, they also support the establishment of a minimal welfare state. Additionally, some left-libertarians argue that corporate welfare should be abolished before social welfare. Robert Nozick, in Anarchy, State, and Utopia (1974), supported the establishment of a night-watchman state, popularizing the concept.

SCAFFOLDING EFFECT

psychology

Reduce cognitive load

The night-watchman state (English: night-watchman state) is a form of state characterized by a small government. In a night-watchman state, the sole role of the government is to ensure, through the military, police, and courts, that every citizen adheres to the non-aggression principle, protecting them from aggression, theft, breach of contract, fraud, and interference with property laws. Its proponents are collectively called minarchists.

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Anchor fast decisions

State functions are minimized to protecting citizens from violence, theft, fraud, and breach of contract (via military, police, courts); anything beyond that infringes on liberty. It provides a baseline for discussing regulation/welfare: how much freedom is traded for security?

MINIMUM ACTION

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Source support: Explicit

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    zh.wikipedia.orghttps://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E5%AE%88%E5%A4%9C%E4%BA%BA%E5%9B%BD%E5%AE%B6ZH · Explicit
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