Quote Originally Posted by denuseri View Post
I just hope that such state replacement isnt worse in the end than what it is attempting to replace.
The difference is that state-provided security leaves you free to choose your own spiritual path if you feel drawn to one. The state doesn't demand to be worshipped. (Those states that did, failed the security test, as shown by the explosion of religiosity in the ex-USSR.)

The consumer economy, on the other hand, does demand worship, full time and devoted, but that's another branch of this thread, which IMO needs to be split off into a topic of its own.