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[–] 2439947? 3 points -2 points (+1|-3) ago 

I'm going to attempt to disagree as polite as possible.

Belief in or against something has nothing to do with the existence of that said thing. If that were the case, we could unbelieve away all things we disagree with (feminist, ufo's, nazi's.....). God doesn't cease to exist because you don't believe in him, for the same reason a government won't either.

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[–] magnora [S] 0 points 1 point (+1|-0) ago 

God doesn't exist because you say you believe in him.

But that's aside from the point, which is that if there were literally zero people participating in the government, it would collapse.

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[–] 2444092? 1 point -1 points (+0|-1) ago 

But you didn't say participating, (or trusted, or acknowledged, or used), you said 'believe the government exist'.

I fully agree that the government only grows because we fuel it; but non-belief alone in its services (benefits, actions, or whatever) won't make it go away. You can still receive handouts if you don't agree with them. So I guess it boils down to this, what does belief in government entail?

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[–] GinTrain 0 points 2 points (+2|-0) ago 

Maybe /u/mangora is speaking euphemistically? More along the lines of the control that people allow themselves to be influenced by. It wouldn't remove the physicality of its existence, but it's unwarranted and unjust rule.

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[–] 2440858? 0 points 1 point (+1|-0) ago  (edited ago)

Most likely he/she is. But I guess my problem with the proposition is more with the verbage of "believing", than (the) "exist" part.

I am not sure I see the connection between beliefs and "existence."

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[–] magnora [S] 0 points 2 points (+2|-0) ago 

The point is, it has no physicality beyond the people who participate in it. The buildings mean nothing without people operating them.

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[–] ServiceStud 0 points 5 points (+5|-0) ago 

Almost everything not physical exists in the same space. From society to colors and morals*, it only exists in the interpersonal space we have agreed on as a social contract.

*) General morals seem to have a biological substrate but specifics are pretty variable.