Why do Libertarians say "Taxation is Theft"?
A reddit user asked a question tonight about why "taxation is theft", whether there's more behind the phrase, and how governments could be expected to function without taxes. I'm rather pleased with the answer I gave: I'll answer with a couple of quotes from Lysander Spooner, one of the philosophical giants that Libertarians love: "If taxation without consent is not robbery, then any band of robbers have only to declare themselves a government, and all their robberies are legalized." And: "Taxation without consent is as plainly robbery, when enforced against one man, as when enforced against millions; and it is not to be imagined that juries could be blind to so self-evident a principle. Taking a man’s money without his consent, is also as much robbery, when it is done by millions of men, acting in concert, and calling themselves a government, as when it is done by a single individual, acting on his own responsibility, and calling himself a highwaym...
