Good point.

In fact, Niebuhr is absolutely right that people are fallible. But in the end this is just as much an argument against the kind of anti-government Libertarianism we see more and more on the right as it is against Marxism.

It has been pointed out that there has been no ‘Libertarian state’ (the crony capitalist model that is rampant in the third world where the government is notoriously corrupt and ineffective being as close as you can realistically find.) But there is a reason for this. In places where there is a complete vacuum of power (remote or tribal areas in those countries) you instead of governments, you have local bullies like gangs, warlords, criminal enterprises, or ‘rebel’ groups motivated by greed, tribalism or religious fanaticism running the show.

So a very old lesson: in a power vacuum, sooner or later someone will fill the vacuum and run it for themselves. Contemplate the Gadianton robbers, for example.

Much better to have a stable and reasonably strong democratically elected government whose leaders people can periodically fire when they feel their needs are not being met.