Quoting Arlo Bensinger <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>: > [Platt] > But, the case of keeping a prisoner from being executed by the state > is quite different from the state providing health care through > forced taxation. > > [Arlo] > Its a little more than that. The "state" is morally obliged to (and > does) provide food and health-care to its incarcerated criminals.
If a jailed criminal refuses to work I see no moral obligation to provide him with food and health care. > [Platt] > In the former case, the state is prevented from exercising legal > force; in the latter, it is encouraged to use that force, an always > dangerous threat to liberty. > > [Arlo] > I see no "threat to liberty" in using taxation to ensure the basic > health-care needs of a citizenry, any more than I see a "threat" to > use taxation to fund public lands, libraries and to keep our roads > and waterways free. I see a threat to liberty in any intrusion by the government into private lives. Our history is a history of government nitpicking away at individual liberty -- resulting the kind of paralysis Pirsig described in Lila. > [Platt] > I think Ben Golden's post puts all examples in accurate perspective. > Do you agree? > > [Arlo] > Sure. To me its not about examples. Its about values. And a culture > that measures value of life by wealth is a sick culture indeed (IMHO). And IMHO a culture that measures value of life above liberty is a truly sick culture. ------------------------------------------------- This mail sent through IMP: http://horde.org/imp/ 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/
