Adam Smith also recognised the logic and equity of taxing the rich proportionately more than the poor. And the repetitive and damaging tendency of merchants to club together to distort markets and raise prices.

Who is to prevent market manipulation and price fixing except the nation state? Without good government, funded with taxes free markets do not function.

There has never been a prosperous nation or people in the absence of good government. Good government is essential to both regulate markets internally, preventing rentseeking and cartel price fixing and to protect and preserve the best interests of the nation versus the constant preying ambitions of external entities- primarily other nations and their corporates.