This is Why Government Should Stay Out - of Everything

Bastiat.org

Frederic Bastiat, the prophet of liberty, in his epic pamphlet "The Law", published in the mid-19th century writes "...the purpose of the law is to prevent injustice...", distilling the entire purpose of government in one sentence fragment.

That is the only, and the whole, justification for sovereign people to singly or collectively assert their will via violent force.

There is no right to impose the three r's on other people's kids, no right to highways, or to read your neighbor's mail, and especially not to do so by force.

It's that simple.

There are myriad means of coming together to establish those common good ends people find profitable, that preclude criminal thuggery - and forcing people to do your will under threat of physical violence is a crime, unless they will harm you if you don't.

If you are actually responsible for the actions of the entities we call government, and your government does anything, other than prevent injustice to it's citizens, such as picking up garbage, paving streets, or providing schools, you are a criminal thug. All those things can be conducted by people through voluntary associations, and they should be, because to coerce people to do them is a crime.

But we aren't the government. We didn't even agree to be responsible for any government ever, in our entire lives. We are not subject to it's laws, because not only did we not sign any agreement that is binding on us, we were never even consulted.

Government is just imposed on us, and we are told it is our servant. But government is a dire threat. In America government seizes million of people violently, holds them captive against their will, and either directly profits from their slave labor, or sells it to private parties.

While some of those seized and imprisoned have acted purposefully to cause injustice, and so there is a just basis, at least, for their being sanctioned in some way, many are only guilty of failing to obey armed thugs.

That is not a crime. Seizing people that are guilty only of refusing to obey you and forcing them to work is. Threatening people with violence if they don't obey you is menacing, a crime, and threatening violence if they don't hand over their money is robbery.

When government is the vector of injustice, rather than it's prevention, the people have a right, indeed the duty, to secure their liberty as best they can. Regardless of what criminals command you to do, you have the perfect right to do what you will, and to protect yourself from the violence they threaten if you don't obey.

Often the best protection from such tyranny is to pose as compliant, and even to comply enough to secure your safety, while surreptitiously acting as you see fit. Sometimes it is necessary to mislead your enemies to prevent them from imposing their arbitrary will on you, or harming you.

You also have a right to benefit in any way possible from your enemies, and any benefits you receive from those criminally imposing on you are in no way liable to indebt you. You owe nothing to those that illegally treat you, even if they have provided you benefits in addition to the harm they cause.

There are limits. The attempt at imposition of their will must be unjust, and you are not due their entire life's production if they made you yield at an intersection where you had right of way. Government, however, is so demanding that there are practically no limits to what you are due as recompense for it's depradations.

You have a right to do that. You have a right to do whatever is necessary to defend yourself from criminals. You have the right to decide whether something is right or wrong, no matter what other people think, and to do it, no matter what other people say, or do to stop you.

If you undertake acts that are unjust, you have committed a crime, and those you have harmed have a right to recompense for the harm you have done them - but no one else does, and there are limits to what recompense or sanctions are just to impose on you.

Generally a fine may be suitable in form as recompense. As fines are money, and money is earned from labor, it is even appropriate that you be compelled to involuntary servitude if you do not, or cannot, pay such fine you lawfully owe to the parties you have harmed, and to that fine should be added any costs the injured parties have had to incur to receive those monies.

No one else has a cause of action against you, and no one else is due your labor, nor has any right to impose any other sanction on you in addition to that payment sufficient to cure your fault.

It doesn't matter if things have always been done differently. The moment that is acceptable to end criminal activity and threat is the first moment it exists, and every moment thereafter, as you may find convenient. You are not subject to tyranny for one second lawfully, and it doesn't matter if you said it was ok before, if your neighbors think you should be, or even the whole damn world.

Except insofar as you have unjustly harmed another, you are free.

Anyone that tells you different is a criminal.

You are free.

Live.