Quoting ARLO J BENSINGER JR <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>: > [Platt] > Don't think so. If the prisoner refuses to work and starves himself to death > that is his choice, whereas to execute him is the state's choice. > > [Arlo] > Now you're talking suicide? If a prisoner "opts" to go on a hunger strike, the > state can do little, but if the prisoner wants to eat, the state may not > ignore > this and passively let him/her starve. By ignoring the prisoner's desire to > eat, and passively letting him/her starve, the state is in fact committing > execution. Pirsig is clear about the only moral reason under which this can > occur.
No. The state like everyone else knows that food is the product of work. If the prisoner makes the choice to commit suicide by not doing what is required of humanity, then it's his, not the state's responsibility. > [Platt] > Taxation, an assault on man's pocketbook, is an assault on a man's liberty. > > [Arlo] > So now you're saying that taxation to fund public land is an "assault on man's > liberty"? What about taxation to fund the military? Is that "an assault on > man's liberty"? The statement you provided makes no differentiation, so I > guess > we abolish the military and let the good times roll. > > Taxation is simply not an assault on "liberty", that's one of the more gross > distortions of the modern dialogue. Taxation to fund social infrastructure > enables freedom. In the same way that a man who is restricted from murdering > (less "liberty") finds him/herself living with far greater freedoms, taxation > is a good thing. > > As is challenging the notion that a man should live or die by the size of his > bank account. > > [Platt] > Some values are higher than life itself, no matter how you try to run from > them. > > [Arlo] > And wealth is not one of them. I guess you don't see the irony in saying wealth is a low value compare to life yet see forced redistribution of wealth as necessary for life. You can run from the issue of taxation, but you can't hide. It was the tipping point in the American Revolution and the constant reminder of the state's power over its citizens, threatening their inalienable right to life and liberty, as our Declaration, which you denigrate, so truly states. ------------------------------------------------- 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/
