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Man Has Two Powers...
Man has two powers…
The first is to do whatever he thinks fit for the preservation of himself, and others within the permission of the law of nature; by which law, common to them all, he and all the rest of mankind are one community, make up one society, distinct from all other creatures. And were it not for the corruption and vitiousness of degenerate men, the would be no need of any other; no necessity that men should separate from this great and natural community, and by positive agreements combine into smaller and divided associations.
The other power a man has in the state of nature, is the power to punish the crimes committed against the law. Both these he gives, up when he joins in a private, if I may call so call it, or particular politic society, and incorporates into any commonwealth, separate from the rest of mankind. John Locke, Second Treatise of Government
And were it not for the corruption and vitiousness of degenerate men….
Once this threshold is breached, where degenerate men assume the reigns of power, the self-protection power and the punishment power are in danger of being extinguished. Just as soon as evil men have an entire state behind them in force, backed up by “law” or statute, the system that they operate will not flex enough to admit the wisdom of those it subjects to its arbitrary will.
This is exactly the reason drafters of constitutions try to make the supreme law of the land specific and limited in its powers. It is because evil men will always abuse the opportunities of power at the expense of those they purport to protect.
Periodically, men wake up and realize they are living under an oppressive system and take steps to correct the imbalance. Such a step was taken in December of 1779 when Vermont was attempting to free it’s inhabitants from the influence of colonial New York, Massachusetts and New Hampshire. In his essay, Vermont’s Appeal to the Candid and Impartial World, Mr. Steven Bradley argued in favor of an independent state. In it he says, “We expect to stand justified to the world, upon that great principle of reason, that we were created with equal privileges in the scale of human beings; among which is that essential right of making our own laws and chusing our own form of government; and that we, nor our fathers, have ever given up that right to any kingdom, colony, province or state, but retain it now among ourselves as sacred as our natural existence.”
What was true then is still true today. We have never given up our rights to any state. It is impossible to give up God-given rights. You can, however, trade away rights for privileges.
WHY DO MEN TRADE AWAY RIGHTS?
They trade away rights because rights require an effort to maintain. And men are want to avoid any type of pain, so they take the “easy” way out. They delegate all the painful aspects of life to the community and pay a price in the bargain. They pay the community to provide protection of life, liberty and property. Over time, they will opt to pay for many more things, if only they themselves, are relieved of the responsibility for actually doing the dirty work.
In his book The Law, Frederic Bastiat tells us, “Self-preservation and self-development are common aspirations among all people. And if everyone enjoyed the unrestricted use of his faculties and the free disposition of the fruits of his labor, social progress would be ceaseless, uninterrupted and unfailing. But there is also another tendency that is common among people. When they can, they wish to live and prosper at the expense of others. The annals of history bear witness to the truth of it: universal slavery, dishonesty in commerce, and monopolies. This fatal desire has its origins in the very nature of man—in that primitive, universal, and insuppressible instinct that impels him to satisfy his desires with the least possible pain.”
He goes on to explain the distinctions between property and plunder: “ Man can live and satisfy his wants only by ceaseless labor; by the ceaseless application of his faculties to natural resources. This process is the origin of property. But it is also true that a man may live and satisfy his wants by seizing and consuming the products of the labor of others. This process is the origin of plunder.”
Here we see the two opposing elements of human nature. On the one hand the universal necessity to produce and prosper and on the other hand the desire of protecting what one has accomplished from the plundering tendencies of other degenerate men.
Now I must ask, What happens when degenerate men are gathered together in positions of community power? The evil that they have in themselves, as individuals, may be quite small. But just as soon as they find themselves in the company of others with similar tendencies, the evil becomes a force in and of itself. Without the restrictions of nature and reason, the probability of injurious conduct is multiplied. Worse, the conduct of the larger body of men, will be condoned and defended by that same body should anyone attempt to challenge it. There is an extremely fine line between a collection of men using their collective strength for a just cause and a mob that uses that same force to plunder those who it purports to protect.
The property tax is such a system. The mob extorts money, under threat of confiscation, from individuals, who are by statute unable to protect themselves against such “legal” plunder. Unless and until the plundered can assemble a stronger force, the prevailing mob will continue to have its way. The circle is complete. The process of extricating oneself from the grip of a common force gone bad is perhaps the most difficult decision men can make. How much oppression is tolerable? At what point do we begin to resist with a final resolve never to knuckle under to the demands of a ruthless mob?
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