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1997-05-17 - Re: Just Say “No” to Congress - authority v.s. power

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From: tzeruch@ceddec.com
To: cypherpunks@algebra.com
Message Hash: bb1f6dcad1704af7638d84c6d1b6856563da2f4cfc7109dd1eeeb1259c3081b8
Message ID: <97May17.134933edt.32257-1@brickwall.ceddec.com>
Reply To: <Pine.SUN.3.91.970516230840.24291E-100000@beast.brainlink.com>
UTC Datetime: 1997-05-17 18:06:08 UTC
Raw Date: Sun, 18 May 1997 02:06:08 +0800

Raw message

From: tzeruch@ceddec.com
Date: Sun, 18 May 1997 02:06:08 +0800
To: cypherpunks@algebra.com
Subject: Re: Just Say "No" to Congress - authority v.s. power
In-Reply-To: <Pine.SUN.3.91.970516230840.24291E-100000@beast.brainlink.com>
Message-ID: <97May17.134933edt.32257-1@brickwall.ceddec.com>
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain


On Thu, 15 May 1997, Vladimir Z. Nuri wrote:

> anyone who disbelieves in the authority of the US government
> yet sends them their tax money is a hypocrite.

They just want their own federal reserve notes back - Render unto
Caesar... But to the original point:

Then so is anyone who gives money to an armed robber who offers the
alternatives of payment or bodily harm.  It is a voluntary decision to
give money to the robber instead of letting him remove it from your
corpse.  His weapon gives him power without authority, and you (or your
survivors) appeal to the legitimage authority of the police to address the
situation. 

China has a government.  Is everything it does to its citizens legitimate? 
If so, why - is it might makes right?  If not, what is unique about the US
government being a mixture of a little democracy and a lot of bureaucracy
that makes any act by any agent legitimate?

Thread