For the vast majority of the population you will not get much support for the Principle of Self-Ownership which is what you are talking about when you say
>The question then, is at what point do a bunch of people become a government? What is the magic number? And on what basis does a government have greater rights than the individuals it purports to represent?
To me and likely yourself the answer to this question is Never, the government never has more rights than the individuals
The US was (and I stress was) the last nation on the planet where this idea had even small roots in the ground as a foundational principle of governance, sadly that has been lost and any of those roots that may have been left were yanked out of the soil at the start of COVID.
Today the rule is "The needs of the many, outweigh any rights of the individual"
> Today the rule is "The needs of the many, outweigh any rights of the individual"
Yes, many people think this nowadays. I think because they did not experience the downsides of this or it is not relevant now.
I think most people tolerate manifestations of this quoted idea to some extent now, when it makes sense to them or it is close enough, and is bearable, like some of the pandemic restrictions.
True, this sets up a dangerous precedent, but I don't think it's certain most people completely bought the quoted idea in general. With some of the less sensible restrictions and mandates, many people realized just how wrong is to take that idea as gospel for every possible situation.
True. At least that's what they're told by the few who control their minds. Interestingly the many's supposed needs lead to worse and worse outcomes for them.
>The question then, is at what point do a bunch of people become a government? What is the magic number? And on what basis does a government have greater rights than the individuals it purports to represent?
To me and likely yourself the answer to this question is Never, the government never has more rights than the individuals
The US was (and I stress was) the last nation on the planet where this idea had even small roots in the ground as a foundational principle of governance, sadly that has been lost and any of those roots that may have been left were yanked out of the soil at the start of COVID.
Today the rule is "The needs of the many, outweigh any rights of the individual"