le to those in power. Is that true freedom? Gardner believes it is not. "Public force is the life and soul of every state: not merely army and police but prisons, judges, tax collectors, every conceivable repression (Gardner, 119)." So even though we believe we live in a free society, we are truly controlled and kept in line by the government at all times. For all of the pride humankind takes in its established government systems, they are flawed. And as for glorious revolutions that change the face of the government or replace one government with another, they are truly and "simply the pitting of power against power, where the issue is freedom for the winners and enslavement of the rest (Gardner, 119)". The idea that there is a definite "good" force and a definite "bad" force when it comes to violence is mocked in the chapter. Violence is violence. "Why does the bread-thief die and the murdering thane escape by the costliest of advocates? (Gardner, 114)." The answer is that in the giving of "Rewards to those who fit the system best (Gardner, 118)", conversely, those who do not fit the system are harshly, unjustly punished through the use of "legitimate" violence, while the true murderers run free. The character of Red Horse sends the message that "All systems are evil. All governments are evil. Not just a trifle evil. Monstrously evil (Gardner, 120)". Nothing demonstrates this better than man's overwhelming hypocracy when it comes to violence. I would agree with John Gardner that society is corrupt because of this hypocracy....
