Opinion: The case for moderate Libertarianism - Steven V. Uccio, Times of Trenton:
December 15, 2014 - "Libertarianism is based solely on the single, guiding philosophy called the non-aggression principle: the idea that you should not use force against another person or accept it from someone else. That's it. No more and no less. Libertarians are often wary of the government and love the Constitution as a means to protect their rights. Many are interested in such things as bitcoin and silver as alternate currencies, because we question the government's monopoly on money and are concerned about the devaluation of the dollar. Those things are not explicitly necessary to being a Libertarian, however, and do not define us.
"Libertarians don't like to use force. We like to make things as voluntary as possible. We hate to ban and we hate to mandate. The biggest problem with Libertarianism comes when we consider our taxes. Income and property taxes are inherently un-Libertarian. The government is forcefully taking money from its citizens. If you don't believe that, then stop paying your taxes and see what happens. If you continue not to pay, you will eventually be sent to prison. Taxation is theft.
"Some Libertarians believe there should be no income taxes or property taxes. They have very thoughtfully come up with a plan and written entire books for either a voluntary or fee-based form of government and, I'm sure, in theory, it sounds very good. It might even work. The problem is that it is very abstract and high-concept. I don't want to be like that. I want to be very realistic and practical in my approach to Libertarianism. I live in the real world and realize I can't undo hundreds of years of history and the growing creep of government in a single day.
"I believe we should have maximum control over our lives and our money and we should be allowed to do whatever we want, as long as it doesn't hurt someone else. I think the government's job is to protect our rights, respect our privacy, do as little as possible, fight wars only to defend us, and have no debt. Its job is not to help people, but to ensure that conditions exist in which people can take care of themselves and by which private charities or an extremely limited social safety net can take care of the rest. That would be a tremendous step forward compared to what our federal government does now and I don't think it's outside the values of the average person."
December 15, 2014 - "Libertarianism is based solely on the single, guiding philosophy called the non-aggression principle: the idea that you should not use force against another person or accept it from someone else. That's it. No more and no less. Libertarians are often wary of the government and love the Constitution as a means to protect their rights. Many are interested in such things as bitcoin and silver as alternate currencies, because we question the government's monopoly on money and are concerned about the devaluation of the dollar. Those things are not explicitly necessary to being a Libertarian, however, and do not define us.
"Libertarians don't like to use force. We like to make things as voluntary as possible. We hate to ban and we hate to mandate. The biggest problem with Libertarianism comes when we consider our taxes. Income and property taxes are inherently un-Libertarian. The government is forcefully taking money from its citizens. If you don't believe that, then stop paying your taxes and see what happens. If you continue not to pay, you will eventually be sent to prison. Taxation is theft.
"Some Libertarians believe there should be no income taxes or property taxes. They have very thoughtfully come up with a plan and written entire books for either a voluntary or fee-based form of government and, I'm sure, in theory, it sounds very good. It might even work. The problem is that it is very abstract and high-concept. I don't want to be like that. I want to be very realistic and practical in my approach to Libertarianism. I live in the real world and realize I can't undo hundreds of years of history and the growing creep of government in a single day.
"I believe we should have maximum control over our lives and our money and we should be allowed to do whatever we want, as long as it doesn't hurt someone else. I think the government's job is to protect our rights, respect our privacy, do as little as possible, fight wars only to defend us, and have no debt. Its job is not to help people, but to ensure that conditions exist in which people can take care of themselves and by which private charities or an extremely limited social safety net can take care of the rest. That would be a tremendous step forward compared to what our federal government does now and I don't think it's outside the values of the average person."
Read more: http://www.nj.com/opinion/index.ssf/2014/12/opinion_the_case_for_moderate_libertarianism.html
See also: ''The Non-Aggression Principle", by George J. Dance
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