Why Taxation Doesn’t Feel Like Theft – The Lowdown on Liberty

By
Thomas J. Eckert
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3
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judicialtitle.com

Taxation is theft.

We’ve all heard it before, tossed around libertarian circles or thrown in the face of political opponents, ad nauseam. While some of us think of it as the end all, be all of responses, is it actually effective as a means of changing someone’s mind? Unfortunately, No. Because like the snide remarks from the left and right, such as ‘Lock her up!’ and ‘fight for $15,’ it does little to extend an olive branch or find common ground with anyone and acts to serve only as red meat thrown to the most basic supporters. But why is that?

Well in our case, the simplest answer is the most obvious; because it’s true. As Dave Smith points out, it’s a lot scarier being mugged at gun point then paying your taxes. Most people who have experienced it don’t relapse those feelings when filling out their tax returns each year, and even without experiencing it, society gives people the impression that it’s terrifying, and that feeling simply doesn’t transfer over come tax time.

Although they’re ideologically identical under the skin, on the surface they appear very different, because humans are emotionally-driven creatures. The old saying “someone may not remember what you said to them, but they’ll always remember how you made them feel” comes to mind here. We as libertarians may not lose in the arena of ideas, where we maintain the logically consistent truth, but it’s no secret that we struggle when it comes to winning the emotional battle. If you need evidence, just look back on last year’s election to see how well libertarians did convincing people when up against the emotional appeals of Bernie Sanders and Donald Trump.

If we ever hope to change more hearts and minds, it’s important to remember that and not waste opportunities with empty, inapplicable jargon that will get us tuned out the moment it’s said. Not everyone sees or experiences the problems caused by government and, therefore, not everyone has an emotional response to hearing that. There are people all across the US, Europe, and elsewhere who may spend their entire life never venturing too far outside their comfort zone, who simply accept what they see and hear in the media without question. People who genuinely feel like they receive a service for their tax dollars, which makes them content with the status quo. And you will never change their mind or undo years or even decades of those emotional impressions by uttering out taxation is theft. Like most contrasting opinions starting off, their immediate response may be outright rejection, considering they haven’t been exposed to it and even with a logical appeal, won’t want to admit the truth unless they’re given an emotional experience to relate to.

For example, Ron Paul ran his presidential campaign on the ‘radical’ foreign policy idea that the US was experiencing terrorism as a form of blowback from actually being the aggressor. While this was met with boos from the crowd at the time, in 2012, Ron Paul ended up garnering more support from veterans who experienced it than every other Democrat and Republican candidate combined. The people who had been there and witnessed the atrocities happening were less likely to reject his sentiment because it matched up with their emotional experiences.

It’s okay if people can’t relate emotionally yet, but it should be our job, first and foremost, to recognize that and help them connect to the idea, thereby allowing them to lower their guard before going further. Once we open their eyes to the possibility, the logical arguments will stand for themselves. But let’s hold off on the ‘taxation is theft’ lines, and in its place, focus on who we’re talking to and actually listen to them, instead of only waiting to point out a logical fallacy they made or some other ‘non-argument.’

We already know the characteristic that makes taxation theft is the aspect of consent, or lack thereof. Therefore, it’s a lot easier to get someone to feel an emotional response when we’re able to point out that inability to consent by tailoring the argument towards something that will stir an emotional appeal – like pointing out Planned Parenthood’s tax funding to pro-life Republicans. Similarly, we’ve seen anti-Trump Democrats protesting the idea of their tax dollars going towards a border wall they don’t want. By planting the seed in someone’s head through an emotional appeal, they’re more apt to feel like they’ve come to that conclusion logically on their own. Once libertarians have mastered this surefire approach, we’ll be able to guide more and more people from both sides towards our strong suit, the logical side of the discussion, and expose taxation for what it truly is; theft.

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Thomas J. Eckert

Thomas J. Eckert is the Managing Editor of Think Liberty and Copy Editor for Being Libertarian. With a passion for politics, he studies economics and history and writes in his spare time on political and economic current events. He is a self-described voluntarist.

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