response to letter on government’s right to tax
October 6, 2014
Here is the response to my letter on government’s right to tax:
Thanks. That makes sense. It’s not the nature of the “easement” – whether it’s taxes, using a path or polluting with noise, all involve trespass on someone else’s property – but rather that the government official can’t have homesteaded anything because he didn’t apply labor or capital to previously unowned land. And he can’t have generated the “easement” contractually because it likely wasn’t the result of a voluntary arrangement.
Here is my second reply to this query:
Yes. Very well said. However, one slight emendation. I would say, instead, “And he can’t have generated the “easement” contractually because it wasn’t the result of a voluntary arrangement.” That is, leave out the likely. It is a matter of certainty, with regard to government, that there was no “voluntary arrangement.” If there was, if, that is, there was unanimous agreement, then it necessarily could not have been with the state. Rather, it would have been with a private defense agency.
Here is a bibliography in support of my contention:
Anderson and Hill, 1979; Benson, 1989, 1990; Block, 2007, 2010, 2011; Casey, D., 2010; Casey, G., 2012; DiLorenzo, 2010; England, 2013; Gregory, 2011; Guillory & Tinsley, 2009; Hasnas, 1995; Heinrich, 2010; Higgs, 2009, 2012, 2013; Hoppe, 2008, 2011; Huebert, 2010; King, 2010; Kinsella, 2009; Long, 2004; McConkey, 2013; Molyneux, 2008; Molyneux and Badnarik, 2009; Murphy, 2005; 2010, 2013A, 2013B; Rockwell, 2014A, 2014B; Rothbard, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1998; Shaffer, 2012, pp. 224-235; Spooner, 1870; Stringham, 2007; Tannehill, 1984; Tinsley, 1998-1999; Wenzel, 2013.
Anderson, Terry and Hill, P.J. 1979. “An American Experiment in Anarcho-Capitalism: The Not So Wild, Wild West,” Journal of Libertarian Studies, 3: 9-29; http://mises.org/journals/jls/3_1/3_1_2.pdf
Benson, Bruce L. 1989. Enforcement of Private Property Rights in Primitive Societies: Law Without Government,” The Journal of Libertarian Studies, Vol. IX, No. 1, Winter, pp. 1-26; http://mises.org/journals/jls/9_1/9_1_1.pdf
Benson, Bruce L. 1990. “Customary Law with Private Means of Resolving Disputes and Dispensing Justice: A Description of a Modern System of Law and Order without State Coercion.” The Journal of Libertarian Studies, Vol. IX, No. 2,” pp. 25-42; http://mises.org/journals/jls/9_2/9_2_2.pdf
Block, Walter. 2007. “Anarchism and Minarchism; No Rapprochement Possible: Reply to Tibor Machan,” Journal of Libertarian Studies, Vol. 21, No. 1, Spring, pp. 91-99; http://www.mises.org/journals/jls/21_1/21_1_5.pdf
Block, Walter E. 2011. “Governmental inevitability: reply to Holcombe.” Journal of Libertarian Studies, Vol. 22; pp. 667-688; http://mises.org/journals/jls/22_1/22_1_34.pdf
Block, Walter E. and Michael Fleischer. 2010. “How Would An Anarchist Society Handle Child Abuse?” October 13; https://www.lewrockwell.com/block/block167.html
Casey, Doug. 2010. “Doug Casey on Anarchy.” March 31; http://www.caseyresearch.com/cwc/doug-casey-anarchy
Casey, Gerard. 2012. Libertarian Anarchy: Against the State. Bloomsbury Academic; http://www.amazon.com/dp/1441144676/ref=as_li_tf_til?tag=lrc18-20&camp=14573&creative=327641&linkCode=as1&creativeASIN=1441144676&adid=157FYFSMK265EK398X47&&ref-refURL=https%3A%2F%2Flewrockwell.com%2Flewrockwell-show%2Ftag%2FGerard-Casey%2F
DiLorenzo, Thomas J. 2010. “The Culture of Violence in the American West: Myth versus Reality.” The Independent Review, v. 15, n. 2, Fall 2010, pp. 227–239; http://www.independent.org/pdf/tir/tir_15_02_4_dilorenzo.pdf
England, Randy. 2013. „The state: what can we replace it with?” March 31; https://www.lewrockwell.com/blog/lewrw/archives/134782.html
Gregory, Anthony. 2011. “Abolish the Police.” May 26; https://www.lewrockwell.com/gregory/gregory213.html
Guillory, Gil & Patrick Tinsley. 2009. “The Role of Subscription-Based Patrol and Restitution in the Future of Liberty,” Libertarian Papers. Vol. 1, No. 12, pp. 1-40; http://libertarianpapers.org/2009/12-the-role-of-subscription-based-patrol-and-restitution-in-the-future-of-liberty/
Hasnas, John. 1995. “The myth of the rule of law.” Wisconsin Law Review 199;
http://faculty.msb.edu/hasnasj/GTWebSite/MythWeb.htm
Heinrich, David J. 2010. “Justice for All Without the State.” The Libertarian Standard. May 6; http://www.libertarianstandard.com/articles/david-j-heinrich/justice-for-all-without-the-state/
Higgs, Robert. 2009. “Why We Couldn’t Abolish Slavery Then and Can’t Abolish Government Now.” August 20; https://www.lewrockwell.com/higgs/higgs128.html
Higgs, Robert. 2012. “What is the point of my libertarian anarchism?” January 16;
https://www.lewrockwell.com/higgs/higgs180.html
Higgs, Robert. 2013. “The State—Crown Jewel of Human Social Organization.”
https://www.lewrockwell.com/blog/lewrw/archives/135000.html; http://blog.independent.org/2013/04/03/the-state-crown-jewel-of-human-social-organization/
Hoppe, Hans-Hermann. 2008. “Reflections on the Origin and the Stability of the State.” June 23; https://www.lewrockwell.com/hoppe/hoppe18.html
Hoppe, Hans-Hermann. 2011. “State or Private Law Society.” April 10;
https://www.lewrockwell.com/hoppe/hoppe26.1.html
Huebert, Jacob. 2010. Libertarianism Today. Santa Barbara, CA: Praeger; http://www.amazon.com/Libertarianism-Today-Jacob-H-
Huebert/dp/0313377545/ref=sr_1_fkmr0_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1370719921&sr=1-1-fkmr0&keywords=libertarianism+today.+huerbert
King, Seth. 2010. “Daily Anarchist Interviews Walter E. Block ,” September 9;
https://www.lewrockwell.com/block/block165.html
Kinsella, Stephan. 2009. “The Irrelevance of the Impossibility of Anarcho-Libertarianism.” August 20; http://www.stephankinsella.com/2009/08/20/the-irrelevance-of-the-impossibility-of-anarcho-libertarianism/
Long, Roderick. 2004. “Libertarian Anarchism: Responses to Ten Objections” https://www.lewrockwell.com/long/long11.html
McConkey, Michael. 2013. “Anarchy, Sovereignty, and the State of Exception: Schmitt’s Challenge.” The Independent Review, v. 17, n. 3, Winter, pp. 415–428. http://www.independent.org/pdf/tir/tir_17_03_05_mcconkey.pdf
Molyneux, Stefan. 2008. “The Stateless Society: An Examination of Alternatives”
http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/msg02056.html
Molyneux, Stefan versus Michael Badnarik. 2009. “How much government is necessary.” July 5
http://www.freedomainradio.com/Videos.aspx
Murphy, Robert P. 2005. “But Wouldn’t Warlords Take Over?” July 7; http://mises.org/story/1855
Murphy, Robert P. 2010. “Overrating Government Service.” March 15;
http://mises.org/daily/4131?utm_source=Ludwig+von+Mises+Institute+of+Canada+Daily+List&utm_campaign=e4794b19d8-RSS_EMAIL_CAMPAIGN&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_6c2fea3584-e4794b19d8-274221537
Murphy, Robert P. 2013A. “Where Are the Rothbardian Defense Agencies?” December 14;
http://141.164.71.80/exchange/
Murphy, Robert P. 2013B. “Drug Gangs and Private Law.” December 17;
http://mises.ca/posts/blog/drug-gangs-and-private-law/
Rockwell, Jr., Llewellyn H. 2014A. Against the State: An Anarcho-Capitalist Manifesto. Rockwell Communications LLC; http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00KN0K6EM/ref=as_sl_pd_tf_lc?tag=lrc18-20&camp=213381&creative=390973&linkCode=as4&creativeASIN=B00KN0K6EM&adid=0DPBHVW4EYKWN86D77DV&&ref-refURL=https%3A%2F%2Flewrockwell.com%2F%3Fpost_type%3Darticle%26p%3D499066%26preview%3Dtrue
Rockwell, Jr., Llewellyn H. 2014B. “What Libertarianism Is, and Isn’t.” March 31; https://www.lewrockwell.com/2014/03/lew-rockwell/what-libertarianism-is-and-isnt/
Rothbard, Murray N. 1973. For a New Liberty, Macmillan, New York; http://www.mises.org/rothbard/newliberty.asp
In the view of Rothbard (1973, emphasis added by present author) “For centuries, the State (or more strictly, individuals acting in their roles as ‘members of the government’) has cloaked its criminal activity in high-sounding rhetoric. For centuries the State has committed mass murder and called it ‘war’; then ennobled the mass slaughter that ‘war’ involves. For centuries the State has enslaved people into its armed battalions and called it ‘conscription’ in the ‘national service.’ For centuries the State has robbed people at bayonet point and called it ‘taxation.’ In fact, if you wish to know how libertarians regard the State and any of its acts, simply think of the State as a criminal band, and all of the libertarian attitudes will logically fall into place.”
Rothbard, Murray N. 1975. “Society Without a State.” The Libertarian Forum, volume 7.1, January; https://www.lewrockwell.com/rothbard/rothbard133.html
Rothbard, Murray N. 1977. “Do you hate the state?” The Libertarian Forum, Vol. 10, No. 7, July; https://www.lewrockwell.com/rothbard/rothbard75.html
Rothbard, Murray N. 1998 [1982] The Ethics of Liberty, New York: New York University Press. http://www.mises.org/rothbard/ethics/ethics.asp
“Paul, Ron.” Undated. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7o4kiWpqoeg&feature=PlayList&p=9645F6A68683F679&playnext=1&playnext_from=PL&index=4
Shaffer, Butler. 2012. The Wizards of Ozymandias: Reflections on the Decline and Fall. Auburn, AL: The Mises Institute; http://library.mises.org/books/Butler%20Shaffer/The%20Wizards%20of%20Ozymandias_Vol_2.pdf
Spooner, Lysander. 1966 [1870]. No Treason: The Constitution of No Authority and A Letter to Thomas F. Bayard, Larkspur, Colorado: Rampart College; http://jim.com/treason.htm
Stringham, Edward, ed. 2007. Anarchy and the Law: The Political Economy of Choice, Somerset, NJ: Transaction Publishers; http://www.amazon.com/Anarchy-Law-Political-Economy-Choice/dp/1412805791
Tannehill, Morris and Linda Tannehill. [1970] 1984. The Market for Liberty, New York: Laissez Faire Books; https://www.lewrockwell.com/orig11/tannehill1.html
Tinsley, Patrick. 1998-1999. “With Liberty and Justice for All: A Case for Private Police,” Journal of Libertarian Studies, Vol. 14, No. 1, Winter, pp. 95-100; http://www.mises.org/journals/jls/14_1/14_1_5.pdf
Wenzel, Robert. 2013. “Robert Ringer’s Strawman Anarchist.” February 2;
https://www.lewrockwell.com/wenzel/wenzel211.html
Re: Quarantines of Old