lol what? First off, escalation to lethal force is not always justified. If someone is trespassing and may not be aware of it, no one is arguing that they should be shot on sight. Property rights ensure that someone cannot be owned, as you cannot sell your ability to lay claim. You would not be able to claim what you were selling it for. Property is not theft, seeing as theft is defined as taking of another person's property without that person's permission or consent with the intent to deprive the rightful owner of it. Saying property is theft is a contradiction. And finally, no , private defense agencies do not look like government, they would not have a monopoly on force and would have to provide services that people wanted or lose profit and be replaced. Meanwhile, in the system you advocate, the institution making the distinction between "personal" and "private" property DOES look like government .