(urth) Gene Wolfe Fans Talk Politics (Again)

Adam Thornton adam at io.com
Tue May 19 14:48:22 PDT 2009


On May 19, 2009, at 4:36 PM, brunians at brunians.org wrote:

> I said this in a recent post. I will expand upon it.
>
> Taxation, the extortion of money from the citizens, is permissible for
> things that are necessary.

Ah.  So "extortion" can, in your world, be a good thing, or at least a  
necessary evil.

This was confusing to me.

I prefer to consider taxation neither theft nor extortion, but rather  
more like dues: something I must pay in order to retain a member in  
good standing of a club whose benefits I enjoy.  I can at any point  
choose to leave that club; if at that I insist on sticking around  
somewhere I'm still reaping its benefits, then I may find myself  
liable to experience unpleasant consequences, like being thrown in the  
pokey.

Adam



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