Category: Aggression
Useful Analogies For Comparing Taxation to Theft
I love using Facebook as a discussion forum. Let us say the year were 1980, and I was possessed of the idea that taxation is like theft, but I wanted to discuss the matter with some other people and work out the idea and see where the holes in my thinking were. This might happen at a party, by coincidence, but in that case I’d have a very limited group from which to draw discussion participants, and the chances anyone would feel as passionately about the discussion as I would be low. I could join groups where such things are … Read the rest of this entry »
Don’t Call It Stealing
“Do you think stealing is wrong?”
“Of course.”
“What is stealing?”
“It’s when you take something that isn’t yours.”
“What if you take something, but the person it belongs to is ok with it.”
“That’s different, you’re not really taking it, they’re giving it to you, so it’s not stealing.”
“Are taxes stealing?”
“Of course not.”
“Why not?”
“I’m ok with taxes. I like roads, firemen, policemen, and schools.”
“So it’s not stealing because you’re ok with the government taking your taxes to pay for those things.”
“Yes.”
“But what if you weren’t ok with it? Would it be stealing … Read the rest of this entry »
Can withholding a good or service be an act of aggression?
My friend and I discussed this question today and I’d appreciate some help from the liberty-minded community is helping me find an answer.
Let’s assume you and a friend live on an island, which you have agreed to divide in half, with each of you owning whatever is on your half. On each half of your island you have a spring of fresh water, which is your only source of fresh water since you’re on an island in the ocean.
One day, your spring dries up. No more water. You go to your friend asking for water, offering to trade … Read the rest of this entry »
When is it OK to Kill Billy?
There’s this kid named Billy who lives across town from you. Way across town. You don’t really know him, but you have some friends who do. They say he’s got a bunch of orange trees on his property where he and his parents live. Your friends like to go by there on a regular basis and get oranges. Sometimes they do little favors for Billy in exchange for oranges, although nothing much. But Billy is a bit of a pushover, and there’s only one of him and more than one of your friends, so he doesn’t have much choice.
Things … Read the rest of this entry »
Where does aggression start?
The non-aggression axiom or non-aggression principle, which is one of the fundamental underpinnings of libertarian thought, effectively states that the initiation of physical force against a person or their property is inherently wrong. Note the word “initiation”, because this principle does not state that it is wrong to commit violence in self defense.
For example, if I like your shoes there are two ways I can get them; 1) I can enter into a voluntary exchange such as offering you money, beads and trinkets, or my undying friendship, or 2) I can force you to give them to me … Read the rest of this entry »