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> I'm not sure abandoning the rule of law, protection of private property, labour protections, at least an attempt at the appearance of corruption-free tenders, high safety standards and the principle that people who are affected should be consulted is worthy of much awe.

Two points:

1. The income tax that pays for the UK's lavish welfare system violates private property (and privacy) rights on a massive scale. It just doesn't seem that way to you because it's been normalized in the society you've lived your entire life in. Conversely, the type of property that was not made by man, and thus, should be under greater government purview: land, is treated as nearly absolutely private, with the state having very little power to expropriate it for the public good.

2. Laws prohibiting particular labour arrangements are not "labour protections". As Peter Schiff put it, "mandatory vacations, sick days, and bonuses do not expand worker's right, they restrict them. They do not raise compensation, but rather force workers to accept compensation based on government requirements rather than personal preference." It is only demagoguery and ideological group-think that makes people believe otherwise. The same applies to mandatory "high safety standards", which violate the right of consenting adults to engage in voluntary actions and interactions, and ultimately result in top-down cookie cutter standards created by a small body of bureaucrats replacing a wide assortment of personal standards, that would be based on the localized knowledge diffused throughout the economy.




I always wonder if people who regard safety standards as a terrible imposition by "a small body of bureaucrats" have any experience of work environments that don't just consist of meetings and sitting in front of a computer?


All property and privacy rights are societal norms in the first place. Society isn't violating any natural rights by taxing you. On the contrary, modern society actively protects you from having all your stuff taken by anyone strong enough to take it.


Both private property and privacy rights are human rights that no society has a right to violate.


Says your societal norm.


Says my conscience. That's all a perception of human rights amounts to. I think most would agree with my perception if the euphemisms and ideological labels were pealed away.


Your conscience being immune to and independent of the strong prevailing cultural norms of course.

And yet somehow a handful of generations ago a large number of consciences were pretty definite about the rights of black Africans. Seems impossible to today's conscience.

Consciences change over time. Every generation thinks theirs is the One True Correct belief system. Bah.


Whether my conscience is affected by prevailing cultural norms won't stop me from opposing slavery, or the imprisonment of those who refuse to hand over a share of all currency they receive in private trade.

We must ultimately live by a set of values that make the most sense to us. I see no reason why I should not.


Lavish welfare system lol compared to France or Germany you get bugger all.




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