"Right to control" a powerful delusion

"Right to control" a powerful delusion

(My Clovis News Journal column for January 16, 2015)

Almost all areas of political contention are invented and imaginary. Those areas of life shouldn't be subjected to laws, majority opinion, or anyone's control.

There are only two things subject to control: aggression and violations of private property. Those don't need any response beyond self defense. No one needs to give you permission to protect yourself and your property, and no one can take away your right to self defense.

Beyond that, just look at all the areas which have been perverted by politics:

There is no such thing as "illegal immigration"- there is only trespassing on private property or not, and where a person was born or what government papers they hold has no bearing on the matter.

There is no right to tell others what they can ingest, inject, smoke, buy or sell- and that includes the size of soft drinks or the fat content of food.

There is no right for the State to ration or regulate marriage. The State can record the marriage if the participants want, but there its involvement must end.

There is no right to forbid the ownership or carrying of weapons, what weapons someone chooses to carry, where they carry them with property owner permission, nor how those weapons are carried.

There is no right to control how someone uses their own property, nor whether they run a business.

There is no right to force people to buy any product or service, such as health insurance.

There is no right to require permits or licenses, nor to charge the associated fees.

Where there is no right, no authority can exist. You can't delegate authority for something you have no right to do as an individual.

There is not even any such thing as taxation- there is either respect for private property, or the opposite: theft. There is no right to be provided things, services, or a salary financed by taking money from others.

To pretend you- or some imaginary "we"- have the right to dictate to others how they can live their lives is the source of the vast majority of political strife. To pretend the authority exists to decide what percentage of other people's property can be taken for "the common good" causes almost all the rest.

It's a powerful delusion, perpetuated through most of recorded history, over most of the planet's populated surface. It's still wrong.

There is almost nothing in life legitimately subject to a vote or any other form of imposed control. Anytime a vote is taken, unless you allow the losing side to opt out- without penalty- your vote is a sham. Imposing the results is aggression or theft and makes you the problem.
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