---Samael <Samael@dial.pipex.com> wrote:
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Michael Lorrey <retroman@together.net>
> To: extropians@extropy.com <extropians@extropy.com>
> Date: 08 December 1998 19:39
> Subject: Re: The Education Function
>
>
>
> >If a society cannot trust the individual, how can it trust a group of
> >individuals? I can always trust myself to look out for me, and you
can
> trust
> >yourself to look out for you. I cannot always trust you to look out
for me,
> >especially when our interests are in conflict. Applying this
principle to
> one
> >thing and not another is hypcritical. Applying it to technology, or
to
> >social/cultural issues, but not to economic relationships reflects
a lack
> of
> >integrity which I find disturbing, and untrustworthy.
>
>
> Because, like most ideals, the system breaks down under certain
> circumstances.
>
> Take, as an example, garbage collection. Everyone has garbage.
None of us
> want it cluttering up our kitchens. We coul set things up so that
each of
> us pays a small fee to have out rubbish picked up. but some people
will
> decline to pay. Now their rubbish is affecting me. Should I pay
for their
> rubbish to be removed? Or should we force them to pay gfor their
rubbish to
> be removed? Or just have their steaming piles of decomposing filth
collect
> in the middle of the street?
>
> Another example: Neonatology - medicine as applied to babies.
> A baby is born with a defect. the baby is a person. It has no
income and
> no resources. Should it's parents be forced to pay for it, even if
they
> can't, even if they don't want to? Should it be asked for a credit
card
> number when it's born?
>
> Just two problems that pure libertarian capitalism has problems with.
>
> I agree that Libertarian Capitalism works in 90% of all cases and
that it
> should eb left to do so as much as is physically possible. But no
system
> works 100% of the time.
>
> Samael
>
Libertarian/Free Market capitalism promises no cures to anything.
What it does promote is lack of government coercion. Any service that
government provides (such as what you list above), no matter how well
intended, must be funded. Governments realize that people don't just
give them money, so governments fall back on coerced theft. That's
right. Taxation is equivalent to violence. If you don't pay,
eventually you will be met with force.
Libertarians believe (and humanists and transhumanists and extropians as well) that social/political goals should not be achieved by use of violence or force. Taxation is a form of violence or force and therefore is inconsistent with libertarian, etc. views.
If you would like to defend taxation as a nonviolent act, I am interested in your arguements.
Terry
==
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