Quote from: Birdy on April 26, 2013, 06:45:37 PM

Quote from: myrkul on April 26, 2013, 06:39:28 PM

Quote from: Birdy on April 26, 2013, 06:22:52 PM

Quote

OK, so of those three men, which is more likely to have the expertise? The man whose house is burning down, the firefighter, or the man pointing the gun at the firefighter to make him put out the fire?

None of them, there are more then those three men.

No, there are not. There are only those three men in this interaction. The third "man" is the government, however, so is technically more than one man. So, let me rephrase that question: Who is more likely to have the expertise to judge how much suffering will be inflicted by being forced to be put out a fire vs how much suffering will be inflicted by letting that fire burn itself out, The man whose house is burning down, the firefighter, or the government?

That depends on how the government is structured, because I think important decisions should be handled by people with expertise (-> scientists or people who have worked a long time in that business)

Like, in this case, the fireman. He would have the expertise to judge how much suffering would be inflicted upon him by putting out the fire. Perhaps that is why he set his fees the way he did, do you think? That the fees would compensate him for that suffering? And to force him to put out a fire against his will - and without paying the fees - would be to add suffering to that, wouldn't it? Would it not be just as fair to point the gun at the homeowner, and make him pay?