Some Doubt that Taxation is Theft

In a comment thread inspired by Mona at Unqualified Offerings Donald Johnson had this to say about my analogy of taxation to sending goons to shake down your neighbors:

“Equating taxation to support government programs with sending goons to shake down your next door neighbor is the sort of thing that I had previously encountered. The problem with the analogy is that it expects us lefties to accept the equation “taxation = theft” in order to see any point to the analogy at all. I think taxation is the price one pays for living in a society as opposed to anarchy and if you accept the minimal state (which I guess some libertarians do not), then you’re still going to have to send those goons next door to cough up the money to run the justice system. And if you don’t, then you send privately hired goons to enforce your rights when the neighbor violates them.

Actually, it’s analogies and arguments of this sort that drive most of us lefties away from any sympathy with libertarianism. You’re much better off sticking to real world criticisms of failed government policies and actual government crimes if you want to reach us, I think.”

The “taxation is theft” meme gets countered with the “taxation is the price one pays for living in a society”. It’s a price that is involuntarily extracted with the threat or actual application of force. Maybe Mr Johnson would prefer “taxation is extortion”. My point was that it is important to think about the violent and coercive nature of government whenever one proposes a governmental solution and that each person has to decide at what point he is willing to dispatch the goons. For some, perhaps Mr Johnson, lighted softball fields for the benefit of softball enthusiasts is important enough to them to use force. Of course, liberals are turned off by analogies like this. So are conservatives. They should evoke a great deal of shame.