I am one who believes that it is possible (and preferable) for
individuals to coexist peacefully with others in a cooperative society
providing all individuals in that society consider murder, theft and all
their corollaries taboo. I believe that government's only possible
necessary function in such a society is to enforce these taboos. Such a
society would result in a bare minimum of interpersonal disputes and
social conflict.
I believe that every time the powers of government are employed to
enforce taboos other than those against murder and theft, and every time
the powers of government are employed to enforce positive individual
rights, the probability of interpersonal disputes and social conflict
increase accordingly.
Society-wide government enforcement of positive individual rights based
on objective economic factors, such as the minimum wage, or on objective
observable phenomena such as climate change is socially disruptive
enough and is sure to create controversy and social conflict at barely
tolerable levels.
However, now there are those who advocate society-wide government
enforcement of pseudo-scientific, subjective states of mind and emotion,
such as gender choice, hate crimes and racism. The resultant
interpersonal disputes and social conflict such enforcement will
generate is sure to cause society to reach a critical mass, i.e., to
Balkanize into warring factions.
We are seeing such Balkanization in the US today because a cooperative
society by definition must be a voluntary society. If the trend in the
US continues, i.e., relying on government to enforce among its citizens
laws and regulations based on subjective feelings and emotion, we will
witness the inevitable demise of the greatest and most extensive
cooperative society individuals ever created on the face of the earth.
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