[Craig] However, In general whenever anything is redistributed, the recipient is better off & the provider less so. Obviously, this doesn't make it right.
[Arlo] Does that mean it is not right to force someone to pay for a war they don't believe is moral or right? And, would you say the public funding of land, parks, lakes, etc is immoral? I also think in very narrow terms, yes, the provider is "less so". But let me take an extreme to prove a middle. Let's say the government requires everyone to contribute $1 a year of their earnings to fund public libraries. In the narrowest sense, yes, the "provider" is one dollar less well off than before. But in a much larger sense, having an educated citizenry creates an environment and community where everyone benefits, in terms of labor and citizenship. The educated person is less likely to require assistance, more likely to be self-sufficient, and so in the long run that one dollar net "loss" is vastly overshadowed by everyone being "better off". Of course, as I said in another post, there is an extreme on the other side. Taking $10000 from each person per year to fund libraries may hit a point where the benefits are drastically overshadowed by the detrimental impact on people. Between no-funding at all and full taxation there is a balance point where a "best case" lays (lies?). You can argue, and I'd agree, that we have problems in both degree of taxation and return on taxation, and these must be dealt with. [Craig] Now we have reached a fundamental question. Force opposes free action. Free action is of fundamental importance according to Ham's metaphysics (Essentialism), Platt's interpretation of the MoQ (when he's not being reactionary), Micah's Objectivism. That's why we all are often on the same side of an issue. [Arlo] I'm still not quite sure what this suggests? That the only legitimate collectivist programs are those that involve "force"? What would be problem, in your opinion, of moving to a privatized police force? Is it simply "armed competition", that you'd see competitors shooting at each other? Would you say that the potential for unequal representation? Special treatment for some citizens? (Why would that be a problem for law but not for health?) Is this also an indication that you find programs like public land management, public libraries and public roadways immoral? What about the establishment and regulation of currency? Is that a legitimate roll of government? Does that involve "force"? Moq_Discuss mailing list Listinfo, Unsubscribing etc. http://lists.moqtalk.org/listinfo.cgi/moq_discuss-moqtalk.org Archives: http://lists.moqtalk.org/pipermail/moq_discuss-moqtalk.org/ http://moq.org.uk/pipermail/moq_discuss_archive/
