Lysander Spooner "The Highwayman"

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NT.6.3.2 1. It is true that the theory of our Constitution is, that all taxes are paid voluntarily; that our government is a mutual insurance company, voluntarily entered into by the people with each other; that that each man makes a free and purely voluntary contract with all others who are parties to the Constitution, to pay so much money for so much protection, the same as he does with any other insurance company; and that he is just as free not to be protected, and not to pay tax, as he is to pay a tax, and be protected.
NT.6.3.3 But this theory of our government is wholly different from the practical fact. The fact is that the government, like a highwayman, says to a man: "Your money, or your life." And many, if not most, taxes are paid under the compulsion of that threat.
NT.6.3.4 The government does not, indeed, waylay a man in a lonely place, spring upon him from the roadside, and, holding a pistol to his head, proceed to rifle his pockets. But the robbery is none the less a robbery on that account; and it is far more dastardly and shameful.
NT.6.3.5 The highwayman takes solely upon himself the responsibility, danger, and crime of his own act. He does not pretend that he has any rightful claim to your money, or that he intends to use it for your own benefit. He does not pretend to be anything but a robber. He has not acquired impudence enough to profess to be merely a "protector," and that he takes men's money against their will, merely to enable him to "protect" those infatuated travellers, who feel perfectly able to protect themselves, or do not appreciate his peculiar system of protection. He is too sensible a man to make such professions as these. Furthermore, having taken your money, he leaves you, as you wish him to do. He does not persist in following you on the road, against your will; assuming to be your rightful "sovereign," on account of the "protection" he affords you. He does not keep "protecting" you, by commanding you to bow down and serve him; by requiring you to do this, and forbidding you to do that; by robbing you of more money as often as he finds it for his interest or pleasure to do so; and by branding you as a rebel, a traitor, and an enemy to your country, and shooting you down without mercy, if you dispute his authority, or resist his demands. He is too much of a gentleman to be guilty of such impostures, and insults, and villainies as these. In short, he does not, in addition to robbing you, attempt to make you either his dupe or his slave.

Taken from Lysander Spooner's "No Treason"

Video by: Matt Bergman

"The Highwayman" Excerpt from Lysander Spooner's "No Treason"

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[furyofbongos]

Love the Spooner! 

[OhMyGoog]

With all due love to Spooner...these fucking videos annoy the shit out of me.

[FloridaN8ve]

To be fair, if Spooner followed his own philosophy to its end, it would have resulted in imprisonment or death. Much like the husband who holds his wife's purse at the mall, sometimes its more convenient to just go along with the plan than to fight it.

[DanMorin007]

One of my favorite quote. I found this quote reading "The Ethics of Liberty" by Murray Rothbard.

[jackolini]

@aquimedes

Spooner actually lost a lot of money and liberty from the government in his lifetime. If you are saying he is hypocritical in the fact that he didn't completely follow his philosophy, that's fine. But he wasn't a freeloader. I'm not completely sure about his views towards Native Americans.

I don't believe in his philosophy either but he did have a few good ideas.

[Aquimedes1]

But Spooner seemed to have no problem taking advantage of the United States Army taking lands from the Natives OR protecting his businesses. According to his philosophy, he should not have ethically taken any profit from the Government's Army, protection, or infrastructure. Why didn't he just go and bargain with the natives? His philosophy was not practical even then, much less now.

[PeteEyre]

Awesome, thanks for putting this together.

How about copying/pasting the text into the video description? This may be especially informative for those being exposed to Spooner's thoughts for the first time.

[jwinter228]

spooner rocks

[VoteLib3rty]

Great vid!