2 ms·

> Policy through votes will come for the wealth eventually No doubt, but might doesn’t make right. Theft is still stealing if 50% of the population plus one a

> Policy through votes will come for the wealth eventually No doubt, but might doesn’t make right. Theft is still stealing if 50% of the population plus one approve of it.

toomuchtodo 2y ago
The idea that taxes are theft applies to a specific mental model [1]. Whether that model is relied on for policy is up to political governance. It seems unlikely though [2] [3] [4], based on electorate sentiment, composition, and turnover rate. I cannot speak to this specific mental model, but it is important to be aware that it exists when interfacing with people who have such a belief system. [1] https://academic.oup.com/book/47090/chapter-abstract/415903001 https://academic.oup.com/book/47090/chapter-abstract/4159030... [2] https://www.pewresearch.org/politics/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2024/04/PP_2024.4.9_partisan-coalitions_4-01.png https://www.pewresearch.org/politics/wp-content/uploads/site... [3] https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2023/04/07/top-tax-frustrations-for-americans-the-feeling-that-some-corporations-wealthy-people-dont-pay-fair-share/ https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2023/04/07/top-tax-f... [4] https://www.oxfam.org/en/press-releases/nearly-three-quarters-millionaires-polled-g20-countries-support-higher-taxes-wealth https://www.oxfam.org/en/press-releases/nearly-three-quarter...
Vegenoid 2y ago
If the majority of a people consider a thing to not be theft, then there’s a strong argument that it’s more not theft than is, since theft is defined by and for humans. Theft is not simply taking something from someone, it is doing so unjustly, immorally, and/or unlawfully. Definitions of what is just, moral, and lawful vary significantly. Of course, you must also consider how a thing is defined across time, and how stable that definition is.

2 ms·

> Policy through votes will come for the wealth eventually No doubt, but might doesn’t make right. Theft is still stealing if 50% of the population plus one a

by eadmund 2y ago

> Policy through votes will come for the wealth eventually No doubt, but might doesn’t make right. Theft is still stealing if 50% of the population plus one approve of it.

toomuchtodo 2y ago
The idea that taxes are theft applies to a specific mental model [1]. Whether that model is relied on for policy is up to political governance. It seems unlikely though [2] [3] [4], based on electorate sentiment, composition, and turnover rate. I cannot speak to this specific mental model, but it is important to be aware that it exists when interfacing with people who have such a belief system. [1] https://academic.oup.com/book/47090/chapter-abstract/415903001 https://academic.oup.com/book/47090/chapter-abstract/4159030... [2] https://www.pewresearch.org/politics/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2024/04/PP_2024.4.9_partisan-coalitions_4-01.png https://www.pewresearch.org/politics/wp-content/uploads/site... [3] https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2023/04/07/top-tax-frustrations-for-americans-the-feeling-that-some-corporations-wealthy-people-dont-pay-fair-share/ https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2023/04/07/top-tax-f... [4] https://www.oxfam.org/en/press-releases/nearly-three-quarters-millionaires-polled-g20-countries-support-higher-taxes-wealth https://www.oxfam.org/en/press-releases/nearly-three-quarter...
Vegenoid 2y ago
If the majority of a people consider a thing to not be theft, then there’s a strong argument that it’s more not theft than is, since theft is defined by and for humans. Theft is not simply taking something from someone, it is doing so unjustly, immorally, and/or unlawfully. Definitions of what is just, moral, and lawful vary significantly. Of course, you must also consider how a thing is defined across time, and how stable that definition is.