General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: Domestic use of military forces is not an uncommon thing around the world. [View all]4th law of robotics
(6,801 posts)look at the European nations that developed massive standing armies. Every one became a dictatorship.
Britain was able to be free from all that and develop quite a few freedoms (for the time) because their power rested on a strong navy. Great for spreading an empire and protecting trade, but terrible for quashing peasants. Hence the relatively weak state of the British crown compared to other colonial empires of the day, like France with their massive standing army that could both project power and secure it at home.
We learned from the British model and had no need for a stronger centralized government than we already had.
A civilian police force and a military that are limited to foreign adventures aren't absolutely essential to having a free state, but they sure help.