The strong state isn't the only thing that can destroy individual liberty.
Mark S. Weiner argues that, while the state may often destroy individual liberty, the greater danger lies in the rule of the clan.
Arnold Kling agrees that clans are illiberal, but he argues that institutions other than the state can keep them at bay.
Using politics to banish the rule of the clan fights fire with fire, because all politics is collective.
Witt argues that Weiner's defense of the state reflects the state's uneasy position between the idea of the small kin group and the idea of empire
Daniel McCarthy elaborates his position and responds to Mark Weiner.
Mark S. Weiner considers how liberalism can best be preserved against both the clan and illiberal states.