Man’s Natural Rights and the Limits of Government
In The Law
Frédéric Bastiat presents the irrefutable maxim that man’s rights exist prior
to the formation of the state and that, therefore, the collective action of the
state cannot conflict with man’s prior rights. According to Bastiat, man can
delegate to the state only those powers that he himself already possesses, and
man does not have the natural right to force another to give to a charity.
Since I cannot coerce you to give to the charity of my choice, neither can
government force you to give to the charity of its choice. Yet that is exactly
what it does. Let us say that you object that government gives money to a
charity that you personally abhor. You would not get very far arguing that you
have a right to reduce your tax payment by a pro-rata amount. If you persisted
in withholding payment, government will confiscate your assets. If you try to protect
your assets, government will kill you. Yet, from the context of natural rights,
government has no justification in forcing you to pay for a charity of which
you disapprove and would not fund voluntarily. ......To Read More....
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