Pointing a Gun in the Face of a Random Stranger

A useful and interesting test to try on any flavor of statist is to ask if he would, on his own, do whatever he is advocating that “government” do (supposedly on his behalf). The question can have two elements: 1) would he actually do it himself, and; 2) whether or not he dares to do it, does he think it would be morally justified for him to do it himself?

Most statists, most of the time, would not feel okay about personally doing the things they vote for “government” to do. But I have to wonder, how many of the supposedly pro-freedom borders fetish crowd would, on their own, feel justified in pointing a gun in the face of some random stranger trying to step across the arbitrary, imaginary line in the middle of nowhere, on the U.S./Canadian border. I suspect that most wouldn’t, but a few might.

And I can’t decide which is more contemptible: those who condone others being violent thugs but would never do it themselves, or those who would do it themselves.

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Larken Rose is an anarchist author best known for challenging the IRS to answer questions about the federal tax liability of citizens, and being put in prison with no questions answered. He is the author of The Most Dangerous Superstition.