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From: dineen@apollo.uucp (Terence H Dineen)
Newsgroups: net.politics.theory
Subject: legal by definition
Message-ID: <24bb0e6d.264c@apollo.uucp>
Date: Tue, 12-Feb-85 12:09:11 EST
Article-I.D.: apollo.24bb0e6d.264c
Posted: Tue Feb 12 12:09:11 1985
Date-Received: Wed, 13-Feb-85 07:34:56 EST
Organization: Apollo Computer, Chelmsford, Mass.
Lines: 34

> ... If we accept Carnes' ideas, that taxation
> isn't theft because it is legal, then the government cannot steal:
> whatever it does is legal by definition (or can be easily enough made so).

In principle, a government can make anything legal; as a matter of practical
fact, it is not always easy.  And the more contrary to the sentiments of the
governed the harder it will be to enact a law or, at least, to enforce it.
I know that this fact provides no ironclad guarantee that nothing bad will
be done by governments but nothing can provide such a guarantee because a) such
a guarantee is not well defined and b) you can't redesign human nature and
what we've got is (tragically) what we've got.  
 
> ... 
> I claim this is a useless distinction: we want to concern ourselves
> with whether the government is *doing wrong* when it performs these
> actions, whether or not it bothered to pass a law making them "legal"
> ahead of time.

If I may express an opionion, the question of whether governments (or any one
else) is "doing wrong" is not obviously meaningful and not of much practical
import; at least, whether something is "legal" has some (though often horribly
imperfect) correlation with common sentiment.

> ...
> Is taxation theft?  If "might makes right", then no.  Otherwise,
> one defending taxation as *morally* right must give better support
> for the legitimacy of a government.

Might does not make right because there is no "right"; governments are
natural phenonena - they arise quite independenty of moral philosophy.

> --JoSH

Terry Dineen