Quoth Paul Ireland: > Libertarians (like Harry Browne) support a non-protectionist flat 3% > tariff on all imported goods which would not hamper anyone's ability > to compete in the market and would be fair.
Some Libertarians (including the late Harry Browne) support(ed) a tariff. Some don't. Either way, saying that Libertarians support a tariff is very different from saying taht Libertarians regard a tariff as being consistent with the non-aggression principle. Not all Libertarians accept the non-aggression principle as a criterion of what constitutes libertarianism. Some who do accept it posit a necessary transitional period from here to "libertopia." So far as I know, you're the only person who tries to put over the absurd proposition that tariffs are "non-coercive." Browne certainly didn't regard tariffs as non-coercive -- as a matter of fact, he made it clear that he regarded them as just a "lesser evil" to be accepted during a transition: "Tariffs (or 'duties') are taxes on imports. A tariff isn't a 'good' tax; it's just a tax. But the government can collect it without sending IRS agents to snoop through your records. Until we find a way to finance government without taxes or a way to assure our safety without any government, some form of taxation will be necessary. And my choice is to use tariffs and excise taxes -- as the Founding Fathers did." -- "Freedom to work, to earn and to buy," from _The Great Libertarian Offer_, by Harry Browne, http://www.harrybrowne.org/GLO/FreeTrade.htm Tom Knapp ForumWebSiteAt http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Libertarian Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Libertarian/ <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
