Might as well rant here…
A couple of months ago one of my friends (socialist) started a group on Facebook about “practical tax and spending cut deal” where he started a debate on taxes.
Today, another friend of mine (Democract, I suppose) was talking to me about how me and my other friend were looking into the matter as if it were pure math and economics and how we are disconnected from reality (something like that).
He always sensationalizes whatever he says, but this time especially.
“We’ve got to come to realize that we can’t cut like this right now. That deficits are not a bad thing, that every country runs them and that we can run them as well. If we just cut cut cut we’ll have nothing left and we’ll just destroy the economy”
More rant here which I forget… Somehow he then changed topics into some “Great realization we need to make to save ourselves”:
“If we just create a universal base which everyone must have to live, then we could fix things in the world. We could make people in Africa have houses for example.”
So I asked how do we “force” them?
“We tax people and government gives it to the people in Africa. The people there wouldn’t have to be rich, but have some universal basis that everyone must have. We can’t just live while Africa is the way it is right now.”
Now I remember he began this argument by saying “you know how in the past if you really wanted something you could kill someone and get it?” To which I replied “I guess de facto…” And he says “Well, so you had to do that in the past, but what if we can distribute the wealth better and you don’t have to do that any more?” So then after his Africa idea I said “you’re saying we should force people to give their property to those in Africa?” He said “yes.” Well, what if they don’t want to? “Kill them.” (maybe not exactly, but something very much along these lines)
The convo went on like this, with me arguing “you can’t aggress against people like that” and him saying “we already do it!” and me saying “exactly the problem with the system!”
I could not believe what he was advocating. He was quite literally advocating some Orwellian government superseding human rights to establish some order of things.
Where can I even begin to argue against him? His argument has so many holes and unethical points that I can see my hand through it if I wave it behind the argument.
I guess my best beginning argument would be “you’re applying different principles to Africans and to the rest of the world. Africans thus have rights and humanity while we don’t?”
Maybe I couldn’t think of any argument because I was just so astonished by what he was saying.
These at least. Sadly our resident Republican in the school left, so I can’t talk with him about stuff. Good thing is I know of two libertarian teachers in my school.
