Submitted by kpaul.mallasch on Sat, 08/04/2007 - 3:55am.
Cities: RichmondCounties: Wayne CountyTopics: PoliticsTypes: Opinion
Cities: RichmondCounties: Wayne CountyTopics: PoliticsTypes: Opinion
A Libertarian Perspective ... on wanting something really good, really bad
By Rex Bell
50 some odd years ago my Mother brought a couple boxes of cereal home from the Becker Brothers grocery store in New Castle. I can’t for the life of me remember what type or brand of cereal it was, but I vividly remember the prize that was in each box. It was an authentic Rin Tin Tin ballpoint pen, shaped like a genuine repeating rifle that was used by Rinty’s cavalry troop and Corporal Carson.
My older brother and I nearly foundered on that cereal trying to eat our way to those ink pens, and our diligence finally paid off. In a matter of days, we were each the proud owner of one of the pens.
My brother put his pen in his desk, but I was anxious to show my good fortune off to my pals at Millville Grade School. And, as was often the case so many times in those days, my brother still had his ink pen, while mine was missing, either out on the playground, or behind one of the registers in Mrs. Dilling’s room, or under one of the seats on Howard Tucker’s bus, or in that no account Stinky Wilmont’s lunch bucket.
Regardless of where it the pen was, it was a devastating loss, one from which I thought I might not recover. Through my grief, however, I was able to devise a plan that would alleviate my sorrow. I surmised that if my brother gave me his pen, which he hardly ever used anyway, then he could have the pen out of the next box of cereal. He, of course, would have none of that plan, so I decided to plead my case to Mom and Dad, and all of my younger siblings. Promises of future favors gained the support of a couple of the younger ones, but I hit a brick wall with my parents.
They informed me that the pen belonged to my brother, and no matter how much I wanted it, he was under no obligation to surrender it too me. If I could convince him to give it to me, or trade for something I owned, or if we could agree on a selling price that I could afford, then I had a shot at getting the pen. Otherwise, I was out of luck.
Although I didn’t realize it at the time, it was one of my first lessons in libertarianism. Most of us learn that lesson early in life. No matter how bad you want something, you don’t have the right to just take it. Not even
if you want it really bad. And not even if someone else has taken something from you. Most people accept that as a fact in their personal lives.
We seem to take a different attitude, however, when the government gets involved. People seem to believe if they want a park, or a hiking trail bad enough, it’s alright to authorize the government to take money from a person and build one. They’ve somehow developed the attitude that if they want a business to locate in their county or state, it’s alright for the government to take somebody’s money and give it to a business. People who wouldn’t even consider taking something from their neighbors don’t seem to raise too much opposition when the sheriff takes the neighbors house and auctions it off in a tax sale.
The problem is, we can’t give away something we don’t have, and since we don’t have the right to take someone’s property just because we want it, how can we allow the government to take it for us?
Next month, A Libertarian Perspective on getting taxes and government under control.
Rex Bell is a Wayne County Libertarian that writes a monthly column on events that shape our lives from a libertarian point of view. If you have a comment or question on a particular subject, you can e-mail him at
lpwc@msn.com or snail-mail him at 17059 State Road 38, Hagerstown.
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Libertairian Perspectiive
Randall L. Jacobsen Sr.
Proprietor
Sow N Sews Custom Sewing N Repairs
and Army Navy Surplus Of Muncie
1806-1810 East Jackson St.
Muncie, IN 47305-2745
I am a registered Voter and do work the polls also, and as a local merchant of sorts, I am concerned when the dictionary $ $ $ start to dry up around us. There are only so many to go around for food, shelter and clothing, medical and some form of retirement. And of Course our personal and family contributions to keeping our "necessary parts" of Government running.
We do need to pay taxes and do service also to the very country we call home. A decent living wage is needed to do these things; and we need to care for the Very Young and Old and those who don't have the ability to engage in gainful employment beyond a certain level.
I have come to believe in "DIRECT GOVERMENT" in the form of Referendums with Recall Authority. Limiting the amount of Representation we allow our elected and appointed Representatives to Represent us on.
Engaging more professionally trained and equipped volunteers and reserves in the public service back to our communities and give tax breaks to those that do in the form of credit for service (time spent in training, equipping, that leads to demonstrated application of skills learned and evaluation for continued service), making provision for those that can't Physically serve themselves, but will donate to those who can and we can lessen the amount of Paid Professionals who require retirement and matching funds.
We just have to guard against special interest hi-jacking the process and doing damage to all of us by controlling the way we apply the process.
Reply to the Libertarian Perspective
Bob Hertzog. Hello Rex.
The story you tell here makes sense, of course, when it relates to an individual. However, I'm not sure the analogy in your argument works. It is surely wrong for an individual to take something that belongs to another individual. However, your argument equates individual behavior (representing only one person) with a government (representing many people). I think the analogy breaks down a bit. The government is not elected by one person. It is elected by hundreds, thousands, or millions (depending on the level of government) and is obligated to serve the needs of every person in the community/nation.
I'm really looking forward to the Libertarian tax plan.:)
Libertarian Perspective vs. Democrat Perspective
Thanks for the comments Bob,
I guess it comes down to a difference in philosophies. Libertarians believe that since a person has the right to defend his own property, he also has the right to delegate others to defend that property. But since an individual doesn't have the right to initiate violence, he doesn't have the right to delegate another person or group to initiate violence for him, any more than a group has the right to delegate that right to another person or group. We also believe that the first purpose of government is to protect the rights of every person, not serve the needs of every person.
I suspect you are being a wee bit facetious when you say you are looking forward to the Libertarian tax plan, since it is based on user fees and consumption taxes, and would be based on a persons use of goods and services instead of the amount of wealth they have accumulated.
But as always, thanks for the civil discussion.
"I never considered a difference of opinion in politics, in religion, in philosophy, as cause for withdrawing from a friend."
Thomas Jefferson
Libertarian Tax Plan
Bob Hertzog
Actually, I was serious. I will be interested in the Libertarian tax plan. I'm fairly certain I will not agree with all of it, but I know I will learn something from it. I will look forward to the discussion as well.
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