Smiting Statist Philosophical Philistinism: a Reply to the Thom Brooks Review of _Escape from Leviathan_

It is possible to pose many difficult and fascinating problems and criticisms for the various theses and arguments in Escape from Leviathan (EfL). This occurred while writing it, and various sharp minds did it on reading drafts or the final product. However, some reviews misunderstand, or ignore, what is written and reassert conventional views. But it is best to answer all published criticisms if only to show how they fail, lest anyone thinks they are sound, and even poor criticisms can sometimes elicit elucidation. Thus, we now turn to the review.