[ExI] The Circle of Coercion/was Re: Friedman and negative income tax

[Stathis Papaioannou]

2009/5/6 Dan <dan_ust at yahoo.com>:

>> I would feel very bad accepting private charity, but I
>> would feel
>> quite comfortable accepting government welfare if I were
>> eligible.
>
> This actually tells us why private charity would be better: it's inherently much more self-limiting.  Those who really need it -- and, to be honest, I've relied on it in my life (and I've also helped others) -- will accept it, while those who don't (and this is subjective, of course) will be less likely to accept it.

Would it be better if insurance companies only had to pay out if they
felt kindly towards you, even though you have have a contract?

>> Government welfare is like collecting the insurance if my
>> house burns
>> down: I pay the premiums and if I need it, that's part of
>> the deal.
>> The deal with government welfare is that if I work, I pay
>> taxes. I'm
>> forced to pay my taxes, but I'm also forced to pay
>> professional
>> indemnity insurance by my employer.
>
> The key point is: it's forced.  The whole system is based on coercion and on perpetuating coercion: you were robbed, so you're entitled.  Where does your entitlement come from?  Well, from robbing others to keep the system going.  From an Extropian perspective, is this the kind of thinking and system we want to perpetuate?

I wasn't robbed, I paid for a service. True, I had to pay for the
service if I wanted to work, but that's the case with thousands of
commercial transactions. I have to pay for professional indemnity
insurance; I have to pay for renovations to the building in which I
own an apartment, or I can be sued and ultimately imprisoned; I have
to pay for insurance in case the plane crashes as part of the price of
the ticket whenever I fly, even if I'd rather pay less and take a
risk. I can look for a different job, apartment or airline, but this
might be inconvenient and costly, if not impossible. I have the same
choice if I don't like the taxes in the state where I live: I could
change the way I work or I could move, although that might be
inconvenient, costly or impossible.

>> If I don't want to pay either I
>> don't have to work.
>
> That's sort of like saying, "If I don't want to pay the local crime syndicate, I can just avoid having a business in town."

The crime syndicate is not chosen and supported by the citizens who live there.


-- 
Stathis Papaioannou