> I think the fact that government exists is tantamount to > accepting socialism. Government intrinsically takes from one > group and gives to another for the benefit of the masses.
Yes, I would agree to that. > You can't have police fire departments or hospitals that take > care of the poor with out some socialist agenda. I have my doubts about this: Private charity can do a lot to help with the poor; unfortunately, the more money taken from individuals, the less there is for private charity. > The question you should be asking is not if socialism/capitalism > is right or wrong but if you value peace or freedom more. If you > value freedom then you accept right makes right, if you value peace > more then you must accept taxing the rich and giving to the poor. Peace and Freedom aren't as opposite as you are making them out to be. You can take a lot from the rich, and then give to the poor, but still have a violent society--take Greece, for example-- because there's only so much taking and giving that you can do, before the "rich" decide it's not worth it, and the "poor" become spoiled brats. On the other hand, there have been peaceful, free societies where individuals would immediately give a helping hand when someone was down on their luck--without forcefully taking that "help" from their neighbors. Medieval Iceland was one such society. > At the end of the day though wisdom dictates balance and > bending with the currents of life to maximize freedom to the > degree that individuals are willing to behave peaceably. Ultimately, peace only comes to those who desire it. You can outlaw dueling and blood feuds, but if an individual, or even an entire culture, are determined to carry these things on, the law won't matter. For that matter, sometimes laws enable certain types of dueling: take patent law, for example. If you are a small company with five patents to your name, and a large company with 20,000 patents decided to sue you, it doesn't matter if you are right: your company is dead! That is, unless you're prepared for the multi- million dollar court battle. I cannot think of a better description of such a system than "might makes right"! And it's *enabled* by government, because if the government didn't attempt to grant monopolies on ideas, companies wouldn't have the power to sue over patents. ____________________________________________________________ Mortgage Rates Hit 2.67%! If you owe under $729k you probably qualify for Gov't Refi Programs http://thirdpartyoffers.juno.com/TGL3131/4ce2e2e15fbaf30faa6st01vuc /* PLUG: http://plug.org, #utah on irc.freenode.net Unsubscribe: http://plug.org/mailman/options/plug Don't fear the penguin. */
