Quote from: fergalish on August 30, 2011, 09:05:05 PM

I'm talking about Libyans in Martyr's Square in Tripoli...
And then, regarding the children not yet born...
A set of laws is nothing other that the rules by which members of a society...

See answer above. Doesn't change anything I've already said.

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In the case of IP, as someone here (hawker?) said, it's telling that just about every country on the planet has adopted some form of IP rights. The discussion we're having has moved from a justification of IP and patent law, to question the very validity of law itself...

Now were getting somewhere. Whoa, that took some time! Wasn't that the point of this thread? Just 'cause everybody's doing it doesn't necessarily make it right. 6 billion people on the planet could decide tomorrow to rob, assault, maim and then kill me, but that wouldn't necessarily make it just would it?

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...Right and wrong are only what are *perceived* as right and wrong...
Maybe in the future, people will think back and say "Ugghh, how disgusting... there is no absolute morality... As far as I understand, this is a well established philosophical principle...

This is true. There is no provable objective morality, but what we make. However, if that is the case, we could just be prey and predator and just do whatever we want (no right, no wrong, just do, kill or be killed). Seems there might be a line drawn in the sand somewhere...

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If you're American, the social contract was proposed by the "founding fathers" in the 18th century and popularly accepted ... If not, then inform the State Department that you no longer consent to be bound by them. Try it, really, I'd love to know how you get on.

That's the gangsta' attitude shining thru. I fully expect to be rebuffed. They don't want me to be free. They live a much easier life if they can plunder from me that which they would have to work for otherwise. What you're saying is; I dare you and see how nasty they'll treat you. Yeah, I get it. They're a bunch of scum because I wish to be free of their thuggery.

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Great. But then, be sure not to use any state-provided water, any state-provided electricity, any state-provided health-care, any state-provided transport infrastructure, or any state-provided anything...

I'll just quote F. Bastiat as he put it more eloquently than I:

"Socialism, like the old policy from which it emanates, confounds Government and society. And so, every time we object to a thing being done by Government, it concludes that we object to its being done at all. We disapprove of education by the Statethen we are against education altogether. We object to a State religionthen we would have no religion at all. We object to an equality which is brought about by the State then we are against equality, etc., etc. They might as well accuse us of wishing men not to eat, because we object to the cultivation of corn by the State."