People have suggested that my opposition to aggression and theft, particularly when committed by people calling themselves "government" or "The State", is just a case of "sour grapes"; that if I had chosen a different career path- one that resulted in me having a "government job" of some sort- I wouldn't be libertarian. Because of the trajectory of my life I would refuse to see "taxation" as theft and "laws" as either unnecessary or counterfeit.
Possibly.
My opinion doesn't alter reality, though.
I would hope I am not so shallow that I would let that stop me from seeing reality. And, there are several things I was once in favor of that I rejected due to thinking the matter through rather than sticking with what I liked.
It's not as if lots of other people who have (or once had) "tax addict jobs" don't see what's really going on- it just makes acting on that knowledge more painful. Yet many do it anyway. Perhaps they are better than I am.
As it stands, I don't consider getting a government job, even though it could be justified on the basis of being a mole or a monkeywrencher. And, I really would prefer if everyone who works for any "government" anywhere would quit and find an honest job.
If that is "sour grapes", so be it.
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In my teens and twenties I read most of Ayn Rand's works and all the science fiction I could. Most science fiction writers were basically Libertarian in their views. I had the chance to become a policeman. That option was clearly open to me (my father had run for sheriff in our county and lost by a margin so slim that it required a recount) but I couldn't do it because it would mean having to enforce the drug laws which, in reality, are religious laws and violate the rights of otherwise honest, peaceful citizens.
ReplyDeleteAren't you glad you passed on that "opportunity"?
ReplyDeleteI've never regretted it.
ReplyDelete