Subject:
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Re: Just Teasing, I Have No Intention of Debating Any of This...
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Newsgroups:
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lugnet.off-topic.debate
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Date:
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Mon, 24 Mar 2003 16:16:50 GMT
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Viewed:
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983 times
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In lugnet.off-topic.debate, Christopher L. Weeks writes:
> In lugnet.off-topic.debate, Dave Schuler writes:
> > In lugnet.off-topic.debate, Christopher L. Weeks writes:
>
> > > I would rather that people have the ability to trick me losing my money than
> > > to take it from me at gunpoint. Isn't that how everyone would answer?
> >
> > I presume you're talking about the government in the latter case, but can
> > you rephrase that without the "at gunpoint" phrase? There's no initiation
> > of force involved; it's simple enforcement of social contract. You may
> > disagree with the contract, but until you exit from it, you are subject to it.
>
> False. Contracts are things agreed to by both parties.
That is absolutely true.
> I was never given a
> choice to reject taxes and the attendant benefits.
By remaining in the country (and partaking of the benefits of government
programs) you have willingingly entered the contract (or your parents
entered you into the contract, which you must take up with them).
> I am no more _morally_ bound by this "social contract" than were the Africans
> enslaved in the south through their "social contract." Do you fault them for
> railing at their lot?
False analogy. You are free to leave the terms of the contract, but those
terms include leaving the country. If you're so peeved at the tax situation
(which you characterize as gunpoint theft) then leave the country and
renounce your citizenship.
Slaves were not similarly afforded an opportunity to exit from the contract.
> Alternatively -- and preferably in my mind, now that we
> have the technology to enable this -- we could do away with the representative
> part of our democracy and vote individually.
You're suggesting that every issue go to pure referendum, and by extension
that each of the 280million+ citizens gets to put as many issues to
referendum as he or she desires. If you think the current system is bad,
then the one you propose would be abyssmal.
Dave!
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