Contra Spooner

The inability of modern philosophers to furnish any kind of argument for the maintenance of a government is a notorious weakness. In Lysander Spooner’s writings, it becomes an odd strength. Throughout such writings as No Treason, A Letter to Thomas F. Bayard, and “Natural Law,” Spooner asks why taxation and participation in the workings of the state should be compulsory. He concludes that there is no legitimate reason, and that government is the instrument of robbery, slavery, and murder.

Volume 18, Number 3 (2004)