George Ought to Help

0:00 Introduction
0:18 A mutual friend in need
0:42 George doesn't help
1:04 A vote
1:23 Many voters and delegated enforcement
1:42 A chain of threats and punishments, ultimately backed by deadly violence
3:16 Alternatives?
3:31 Further reading

If you'd like to make a version dubbed into another language you can download the necessary files here:

Free PDF books:

'For a New Liberty'

'The Machinery of Freedom'

'Lessons for the Young Economist'

Translation credits:
Dutch - Kassen / Richard Boeser
French - Alexandre A. Bizri

Use this url to submit new translations:

[bitbutter]

The comments section is moderated. Civil dissent is very welcome.

Posters of antagonistic comments may be blocked from the channel. The use of invective or name-calling is very likely to get you banned. Please consider whether there's a more constructive way of conveying your message before clicking 'Comment'.

Thanks!

[MartinTheCoug]

I didn't find this convincing at all; the agents didn't even shoot George's dog when they took him away. You expect me to believe they're that nice?

[Mike-zxlq]

Bitbutter, I'm amazed that you continue to reply to all of the same repeated (and defeated) objections posted here in the comments even 10 years later. You are a blessing to the world, and I'm glad you were born.

[GunsNBudder]

2:14 is totally wrong, We all know damned well the Agents would've shot that dog for laughs.

[ProlificThreadworm]

>imagine you have a friend
This is unrelatable nonsense

[drew]

The mental gymnastics that people perform in order to avoid having to construct a logically sound rebuttal is incredible.

[samuski]

I have not paid the federal income tax in 14 years. I take my witholdings down to zero and claim exempt, so that no money comes out of my check. On April 15th, I do not file.
I have been threatened, and told I will be audited. I even had an IRS agent tell me over the phone that the IRS had sent me notices for years that I owe. and when I pointed out that notices do not constitute evidence, they told me, "Well no ones going to come after you, the IRS has bigger fish to fry!"
The man had no answer when I asked what would happen when the IRS runs out of big fish.

[ripoffstopper]

George would be happy to help if the state didn't take half his paycheck

[jackpeterson]

Thanks Bitbutter! I've watched this video many times over the years and the common sense and simple explanations can help anyone be a Voluntaryist!

[johnmoss]

I am seeing a lot of people falling back on "but what about the state?"  and "but what about the fire department?"  or "what about the roads?"

They're still missing the fundamental point.  Is it ok to threaten violence in order to build the roads?  Is it ok to threaten violence in order to fund the fire department?  Is it ok to threaten violence to pay for all the bureaucratic machinery of the state?  If you think the answer is "Yes", then just come out and say it.  Tell us how you think it is ok to hold a gun to a person's head to force them to give you money.  If you think that it isn't ok, then it doesn't really matter what the reasons for extracting the money are.  If it isn't done voluntarily, it is meaningless violence.

[ScottAlmighty]

There are a lot of things one can say to try and make it seem less bad that George is being threatened. In particular, people argue that George benefits from society. All of these points are completely *beside* the relevant point. The relevant question is not complicated: would you, in this case, be comfortable punching George in the face repeatedly and taking his money from him? If you say no to yourself, then you need to think about any support you have for similar laws in society, which threaten the world's Georges with violence if they refuse to pay. All further equivocations are irrelevant. This is the question to be addressed.

[cermit]

What's sad is that most libertarians are classical libertarians who are still under the illusion some state is necessary. As if nothing existed before government, as of free markets didn't exist before government, as if prosperous societies didn't exist before government.

[Mike-zxlq]

"The fact is that the government, like a highwayman, says to a man: Your money, or your life. And many, if not most, taxes are paid under the compulsion of that threat.

The government does not, indeed, waylay a man in a lonely place, spring upon him from the road side, and, holding a pistol to his head, proceed to rifle his pockets. But the robbery is none the less a robbery on that account; and it is far more dastardly and shameful.

The highwayman takes solely upon himself the responsibility, danger, and crime of his own act. He does not pretend that he has any rightful claim to your money, or that he intends to use it for your own benefit. He does not pretend to be anything but a robber. He has not acquired impudence enough to profess to be merely a “protector, ” and that he takes men’s money against their will, merely to enable him to “protect” those infatuated travellers, who feel perfectly able to protect themselves, or do not appreciate his peculiar system of protection. He is too sensible a man to make such professions as these. Furthermore, having taken your money, he leaves you, as you wish him to do. He does not persist in following you on the road, against your will; assuming to be your rightful “sovereign, ” on account of the “protection” he affords you. He does not keep “protecting” you, by commanding you to bow down and serve him; by requiring you to do this, and forbidding you to do that; by robbing you of more money as often as he finds it for his interest or pleasure to do so; and by branding you as a rebel, a traitor, and an enemy to your country, and shooting you down without mercy, if you dispute his authority, or resist his demands. He is too much of a gentleman to be guilty of such impostures, and insults, and villanies as these. In short, he does not, in addition to robbing you, attempt to make you either his dupe or his slave."

~ Lysander Spooner, 1870

[linkamus]

If you personally hold your friend's decision to not help George vile and intolerable, then ostracize him. It's a much more powerful tool than brute force, and does not in any way violate the non aggression principle.

[ogunden]

"Most of us feel uncomfortable about threatening peaceful people when we imagine having to make the threats ourselves. If we feel negatively towards the idea of threatening George personally, can we really be comfortable with the threats made toward him by agents of the state."

Replace "threatening peaceful people" with "killing an innocent animal" and replace the agents of the state with Tysons chicken, and I think it works as well. I see a real connection between the non-aggression principle / libertarian ideals and ethical vegetarianism, and the connection can basically be summed up as "peace".

(Kinda funny how some of my libertarian friends see me as a crazy vegan, and my vegetarian friends see me as a crazy libertarian, while to me they are just two sides of the same bitcoin!)

[willinnewhaven]

The false thing is that they didn't shoot the little dog.

[huemid]

Haven’t seen a single comment that can dispute anything said, well done.

[anderslarsen]

Excellent video. I wish we lived in a free world.

[jessethomas]

I hope to live to see a day when this video is no longer relevant

[liq]

@Jeremy Hoffman said "Tax collectors don't necessarily use violence. I think that the situation sounds much more reasonable if we assume that, if George doesn't use force against the agents, they will not hurt him. Government officials are (generally) instructed to inflict as little harm as possible. The gun and baton will probably not come into play if he is really "peaceful"; only the handcuffs, if that. Also, the 3rd scenario does not sound bad--only the first and possibly the second."

George has 3 responses to the tax collocter. 

1. Resist violently, and probably get killed by the State. 
2. Resist peacefully, then end up in prison while the government steals your property to pay off your taxes.
3. Knowing the above, any sane person will just peacefully pay the government extortion, since they don't want to end up in prison or dead.

Without the threat of the first, George could just resist violently, and get away without paying the government extortion. This is why taxes require deadly force.