  From the analysis of the de facto logic of collective action that would block the spontaneous provision of many fundamentally important classes of collective goods we can go on to argue for what is now often called the public-goods theory of the state (Baumol 1952, 90–93; more generally see Hardin 1997). The public-goods account gives us a clear normative justification of the state in welfarist terms: The state resolves many centrally important and potentially pervasive free rider problems. It does not give us an explanatory account of the origins of the state, although it could arguably contribute to the explanation of the maintenance of a state once it exists. It might do so through support for the state’s collective provisions and, therefore, support for the state. Unfortunately, as libertarians are quick to note, giving the state power to resolve certain free rider problems also gives it the power to do many other things that could not be justified with similar normative arguments.