X-Message-Number: 17224
Date: Wed, 8 Aug 2001 09:05:48 -0400
From: Wesley Eddy <>
Subject: Re: anarchy is bad?

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Gary Tripp <> wrote:
> Why should anarchy necessarily be a bad thing?
> History is replete with examples that demonstrate the fact that central
> authority has, more often than not, been a most prolific source of evil.

"Evil" is relative.  Many people would consider unnaturally extending ones
life through cryonics to be evil.  On the contrary, government more often
than not has raised standards of living and education levels.  There have
never been any great civilizations who were without government.

> Witness the demise of communism and the rise of free market reforms
> throughout the world. These are good proxies for central authority vs
> anarchy. Morally speaking, what group of individuals has the right to tell
> me how to conduct my own affairs as long as I don't encroach upon the
> freedom of others.

Ah, but what does that mean?  By driving my car with no catalytic converter
and polluting the limited supply of air others have to breath, do I encroach
on their freedom?  By operating motor vehicles while heavily intoxicated,
and threatening the lives of everyone on the road, does a drunk driver
encroach on their freedom?  If the answer is "yes" to questions like these,
which it is, then you must have some body to create laws to define what
encroaches on people's "freedom" and then of course a body to enforce
those laws, and one to punish offenders, and of course none of these
people will work for free, so you need to levy taxes to support them,
and on and on for a while, until finally you're left with the present
US government.  The founding fathers thought pretty hard about preserving
your "freedom".

-Wes

- 
"I can't see too well, what's it all about?  I don't know man, did you poke
your eyes out?"		-Angry Samoans, "Lights Out"

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