Re: OT: Socialism (WAS: Re: Saving endangered langs (was Re: Extrapolating languages)
| From: | Mark J. Reed <markjreed@...> |
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| Date: | Monday, December 22, 2003, 22:44 |
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On Mon, Dec 22, 2003 at 11:04:15PM +0100, Andreas Johansson wrote:
> Well, if the gov't was sending out armed thugs collecting money at gunpoint, I
> might agree to describe it as theft. But when you hear about the
> gov't "stealing" people's money, it's usually about taxation.
And what happens if you *don't* pay taxes? Armed men (admittedly,
probably not "thugs", depending on your particular jurisdiction)
show up and cart you off to jail. I don't see a fundamental distinction.
> > Governments don't *own* anything. They are custodians of things which
> > belong to the governed.
>
> Why couldn't governments own stuff? There's sure plenty of signs saying "state
> property" around ...
The government is not the state.
-Mark