Humans are weak individually so form into groups where they can achieve greater power and security. These groups develop around a set of ideas and values and the result is a culture, which in turn competes with adjacent cultures. As conditions and technology change the ideal form of society changes, and as this happens cultures and empires rise and fall.

The only constant is change.

Thus the contest of ideas, which science and democracy both theoretically embrace, is fundamental to survival.

Forced consensus, common to autocracies/despots is in contrast a considerable risk.

Governments are central to the wealth of nations. Libertarians seem oblivious to these fundamental dynamics.