Offensive and Defensive Force

Guinevere: How many Britons have you killed?
Arthur: As many who have tried to kill me. It's the natural state of any man to want to live.
Guinevere: Animals live! It's the natural state of men to want to live free in their own country.
--King Arthur

Force is the infliction of violence. Violence can be inflicted offensively or defensively.

Offensively, force is initiated by one entity on another. The entity who initiates force is the aggressor and is engaging in attack. The motivation for initiating violence on another entity is that the offender perceives some benefit from invading the other's person or property.

Defensively, force is used to counter violent aggression. Rather than initiating violence, the defender uses force for self-defense purposes. The motivation is to stave off the aggressor's attack of person or property.

In a free society, there is no legitimate cause for the use of offensive force. All people have the inalienable right to liberty. No one can legitimately invade the interests of another.

Should someone be attacked, then that person can legitimately use force to counter the violence initiated by someone else. All people are free to develop self-defense capacity within their means as they see fit.

Anyone seeking to limit someone else's self-defense capacity through the use of force becomes an attacker--an initiator of violent force on someone else.

In a free society, the proper role of government is to help individuals defend their person and property. When the scope of government extends beyond this into the realm of taking from some for the benefit of others, then government becomes the aggressor.

Of course, government is just a strong armed agent for those seeking to employ offensive force. The principals who back the agency of offensive government force are the true aggressors.