Principle 1: Stealing is Bad—Even for Barack Obama & Terrell Owens

This is the first in a series of 5 posts in which I am trying to illustrate the basic principles of liberty.

Principle 1: Stealing is Bad—Even for Barack Obama and Terrell Owens
Principle 2: Equality Sucks. . . . Literally
Principle 3: Pride Leads to Captivity
Principle 4: Teacher vs Cop
Principle 5: Democracy is only a Means to an End

I want a Ferrari like Terrell Owens

I’m poor. Terrell Owens is rich (despite being unemployed). Even so, it would be wrong of me to steal from him. And, of course, it would be REALLY wrong for him to steal from me. Neither of us would ever think of taking from the other (I’m giving him the benefit of the doubt here).

What if, however, a policeman came along and said, “It really isn’t fair that T.O. gets to cruise in a Ferrari while Benton rolls in a beat up Camry.” Terrell would, of course, have a fit if the policeman took his Ferrari, so instead the officer takes Terrell’s Audi and gives it to me. Sounds great right? T.O. is still rich, and now I’m better off too. That policeman just made the world a better place.

Okay, I’ve never seen a policeman do such a thing, but what about a mayor? A governor? President of The United States?

Government

How often does the government take money from one group and give it to another? The reasons are countless: help the poor, bailout big companies, stimulate the economy, support “green” technology, etc. etc. The good intentions of these programs do not change the fact that they all rely on force. What is the difference between being forced to give and being stolen from?

Liberty is tossed out the door whenever force enters the room.

No one illustrates this principle better than Frederic Bastiat. I highly recommend his short book (it was orginally a pamphlet) The Law. Read it on pdf , or buy it for $2.49 from Amazon.

5 Responses to “Principle 1: Stealing is Bad—Even for Barack Obama & Terrell Owens”

S.P. Gass says:

March 8, 2009 at 9:59 pm

I thought this was an interesting quote from FDR’s Treasury Secretary Henry Morgenthau Jr. that someone used in a letter to the editor in my local paper:

“We are spending more money than we have ever spent before and it does not work. I want to see this country prosperous. I want to see people get a job. We have never made good on our promises. I say after eight years of this administration we have just as much unemployment as when we started and an enormous debt to boot.”
Principle 4: Equality Sucks. . . . Literally « Benton Crane says:

March 17, 2009 at 9:44 am

[...] Principle 1: Stealing is Bad—Even for Barack Obama and Terrell Owens. [...]
Principle 3: Pride Leads to Captivity « Benton Crane says:

March 31, 2009 at 7:51 am

[...] Principle 1: Stealing is Bad—Even for Barack Obama and Terrell Owens. [...]
Principle 4: Teacher vs Cop « Benton Crane says:

April 14, 2009 at 9:29 am

[...] Principle 1: Stealing is Bad—Even for Barack Obama and Terrell Owens. [...]
Principle 5: Democracy is only a Means to an End « Benton Crane says:

April 30, 2009 at 12:56 pm

[...] Principle 1: Stealing is Bad—Even for Barack Obama and Terrell Owens. [...]

Benton Crane