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From: mms1646@acf4.UUCP (Michael M. Sykora)
Newsgroups: net.politics
Subject: Taxation is theft
Message-ID: <1340118@acf4.UUCP>
Date: Mon, 27-May-85 10:50:00 EDT
Article-I.D.: acf4.1340118
Posted: Mon May 27 10:50:00 1985
Date-Received: Thu, 30-May-85 03:36:44 EDT
Organization: New York University
Lines: 19

The notion "taxation is theft" has been referred to recently on the net.
As I recall, at least one poster felt that the phrase was obviously
inappropriate.

It seems to me that there are two basic meanings of "theft" :

	1)  the unlawful taking of the property of one party by another

	2)  the unsanctioned taking of property by a party from its
		rightful owner


Clearly, the phrase is inappropriate according to the first definition.
However, unless one accepts the premise that the government (or society,
the public, etc.) is the rightful owner of all property, the second
definition would seem to include taxation.


						Mike Sykora