We’ve crunched the numbers from several eras, and the verdict is clear: No other business model comes close; nothing rakes in money like a government. The numbers were so large, however, that we needed a method of proof – some way to double-check them. And we found one, by comparing them to the tributes that warlords were able to extract from frightened governments. In the end, the statement stands confirmed: Government is, by far, the biggest and most profitable business on the planet, and always has been.