Is a criminal action still a crime if The State does it? (original) (raw)

• If you initiate force or fraud against others you’re committing a crime
• It’s equally a crime if The State does it
• Reject double-standards. Call all initiated-force by the same name: crime.

For example, The State routinely commits the crimes of….

• Assault and kidnapping, when it arrests people who have initiated no force or fraud
• Murder, if such an arrest leads to death
• Counterfeiting and theft, when it inflates the currency

But these are just a few examples. The full list of The State’s crimes would be nearly endless. This is because, sadly…

The State rarely uses force properly, in a defensive way only. Nearly everything it does involves initiation, and is therefore criminal. These crimes create victims — real human beings who suffer real harm. Always ask yourself this question…

Does a proposed political policy require a threat of aggressive force to make innocent people act against their own conscience or preference, or does the policy merely deal with the defensive use of force, such as with criminal justice?

• If the proposed policy initiates force against innocent people, then it is aggressive, criminal, and improper. But…
• If the proposed policy only uses force when people are harming others, then it is a non-aggressive defensive use of force. That makes it a proper governmental function.

Ask yourself a few more questions…

• Would you feel justified using a gun yourself to make your neighbors, friends, or family obey the proposed policy.
• Does wrong become right just because the action in question is being committed by an Agent of The State?
• Does wrong become right just because a majority approves?

Bring it all together…

A crime is a crime, no matter who commits the action. If The State commits a criminal act, then call it a crime. Do not employ euphemisms to hide the criminality.

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By Perry Willis & Jim Babka