Hacker News Reader

Comment by jakeva | Hacker News Reader

In a "free" society, what basis does society have to say how much stuff you owe based on your income each year? Or that you have to keep your sidewalk clear of snow each winter? Or that you can't just leave your car wherever you want?

What about amassing as much stuff as possible selling controlled substances and brokering crime?

If you want society completely out of your business, you're going to have a hard time.

View on HN

Limits on property ownership are a very different topic than taxation or crime.

They are treated fundamentally different in law, economics, and philosophy.

Taxation is basically a limit of property ownership. The inheritance tax comes to mind (also an estate tax although those are not well established everywhere in the world) but also income-taxation limits what you can earn as a person and therefore what you can own.

And taxation is also not the only parallel one could draw. For example, limits on the usage of you property is also highly regulated in various ways. Usage and ownership are very closely related.

You say that like that as though you're not just uncharitably describing what's basically a libertarian paradise.

There are tons of people who want exactly what you find so abhorrent.

You're making an assumption I ascribe any feeling whatsoever to what I described when in fact I was extending the comment to include things most societies currently do have a say in, without emotion.

For all you know I am a libertarian making the argument for a libertarian paradise.

He's not saying that in the least. This is a conversation specifically about inheritance taxes. Where do you get libertarian paradise from?

Plenty of countries don't have an inheritance tax and aren't libertarian in the least.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com