• the_frumious_bandersnatch@programming.dev
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    1 year ago

    I would collect taxes if I held the power of physical violence over a community. All taxation is theft, amiright?

    But seriously, stealing is a crime because prevailing thought within the community is that taking something that someone else has a claim on is wrong. If the prevailing thought was that it was not wrong, it wouldn’t be against the law, but we also would call it something else… Like taxation.

      • ArcaneSlime@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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        1 year ago

        Well tbf if someone stole my wallet at gunpoint but used a small portion of the money stolen to buy me lunch I’d still be pretty mad about him spending the rest of my money paying off his Haliburton credit card.

      • the_frumious_bandersnatch@programming.dev
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        1 year ago

        I agree. Guess I should have put a /s on the slogan. But it’s still taking a portion of something that is technically owned by one person or group for the betterment of the community.

        Some people see that as theft and so would call it stealing even though there isn’t a law against it. My point is that this question is asked from a particular vantage point and what constitutes theft and the law may be different from one person to another.