I like arguing with libertarians. The smart ones force you to sharpen your positions on specific policies, and I approve of their resistance to emotion. But I could do without the evangelism--"what if I told you taxation is theft?--that assumes you've never met a 14-year-old boy
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well, not surprisingly, we differ in regard to private property. But to me this isn't simply normative. It's a rough description of the way our society is arranged, though the ppl society most rewards have an interest in not acknowledging their debt
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It doesn't even matter much how one feels about this its evidently correct. All rights are contingencies from negotiations with the commonwealth. The idea of rights being anything beyond that is puerile, frankly
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it's pretty close to the way property actually works, though. property rights are respected to the extent that they make society better. they're not inviolable. taxes are good.
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Well, what is "inviolable" by your standard? For instance, someone could say "Uighurs' religious freedoms are respected to the extent that they make society better. They're not inviolable. National security is good." Is that re-framing legitimate?
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I share your concern that other people appear all too happy to take what is yours. My views have changed in large part because without a Leviathan (see Hobbes), without society, we are nothing. We would not live in some Ayn Rand wonderworld. We would live in lawless chaos.
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Look at the conditions humans lived in for millions of years prior to civilization. It was directly antithetical to human flourishing. Governments can be corrupt, sure. But strong governments are necessary if not sufficient by themselves. And for those you need taxes.
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good arg.
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Saying it belongs to the commonwealth also requires quite a bit of metaphysics.
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As a former libertarian who now holds these views, I'll note that being able to hold both of these perspectives in one head and switching between them is a little bit like having a good stereogram puzzle in front of you.
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What steered you toward libertarianism, and what steered you away?
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