The payment of taxes, being compulsory, of course furnishes no evidence
that any one voluntarily supports the Constitution.
1. It is true that the _theory_ of our Constitution is, that all taxes
are paid voluntarily; that our government is a mutual insurance company,
voluntarily entered into by the people with each other; that each man
makes a free and purely voluntary contract with all others who are
parties to the Constitution, to pay so much money for so much
protection, the same as he does with any other insurance company; and
that he is just as free not to be protected, and not to pay tax, as he
is to pay a tax, and be protected.
But this theory of our government is wholly different from the practical
fact. The fact is that the government, like a highwayman, says to a man:
"Your money, or your life." And many, if not most, taxes are paid under
the compulsion of that threat.
The government does not, indeed, waylay a man in a lonely place, spring
upon him from the roadside, and, holding a pistol to his head, proceed
to rifle his pockets. But the robbery is none the less a robbery on that
account; and it is far more dastardly and shameful.
The highwayman takes solely upon himself the responsibility, danger, and
crime of his own act. He does not pretend that he has any rightful claim
to your money, or that he intends to use it for your own benefit. He
does not pretend to be anything but a robber. He has not acquired
impudence enough to profess to be merely a "protector," and that he
takes men's money against their will, merely to enable him to "protect"
those infatuated travellers, who feel perfectly able to protect
themselves, or do not appreciate his peculiar system of protection. He
is too sensible a man to make such professions as these. Furthermore,
having taken your money, he leaves you, as you wish him to do. He does
not persist in following you on the road, against your will; assuming to
be your rightful "sovereign," on account of the "protection" he affords
you. He does not keep "protecting" you, by commanding you to bow down
and serve him; by requiring you to do this, and forbidding you to do
that; by robbing you of more money as often as he finds it for his
interest or pleasure to do so; and by branding you as a rebel, a
traitor, and an enemy to your country, and shooting you down without
mercy, if you dispute his authority, or resist his demands. He is too
much of a gentleman to be guilty of such impostures, and insults, and
villainies as these. In short, he does not, in addition to robbing you,
attempt to make you either his dupe or his slave.
The proceedings of those robbers and murderers, who call themselves "the
government," are directly the opposite of these of the single
highwayman.
In the first place, they do not, like him, make themselves individually
known; or, consequently, take upon themselves personally the
responsibility of their acts. On the contrary, they secretly (by secret
ballot) designate some one of their number to commit the robbery in
their behalf, while they keep themselves practically concealed. They say
to the person thus designated:
Go to A---- B----, and say to him that "the government" has need of
money to meet the expenses of protecting him and his property. If he
presumes to say that he has never contracted with us to protect him, and
that he wants none of our protection, say to him that that is our
business, and not his; that we _choose_ to protect him, whether he desires
us to do so or not; and that we demand pay, too, for protecting him. If
he dares to inquire who the individuals are, who have thus taken upon
themselves the title of "the government," and who assume to protect him,
and demand payment of him, without his having ever made any contract
with them, say to him that that, too, is our business, and not his; that
we do not _choose_ to make ourselves _individually_ known to him; that
we have secretly (by secret ballot) appointed you our agent to give him
notice of our demands, and, if he complies with them, to give him, in
our name, a receipt that will protect him against any similar demand for
the present year. If he refuses to comply, seize and sell enough of his
property to pay not only our demands, but all your own expenses and
trouble beside. If he resists the seizure of his property, call upon the
bystanders to help you (doubtless some of them will prove to be members
of our band). If, in defending his property, he should kill any of our
band who are assisting you, capture him at all hazards; charge him (in
one of our courts) with murder; convict him, and hang him. If he should
call upon his neighbors, or any others who, like him, may be disposed to
resist our demands, and they should come in large numbers to his
assistance, cry out that they are all rebels and traitors; that "our
country" is in danger; call upon the commander of our hired murderers;
tell him to quell the rebellion and "save the country," cost what it
may. Tell him to kill all who resist, though they should be hundreds of
thousands; and thus strike terror into all others similarly disposed.
See that the work of murder is thoroughly done; that we may have no
further trouble of this kind hereafter. When these traitors shall have
thus been taught our strength and our determination, they will be good
loyal citizens for many years, and pay their taxes without a why or a
wherefore.
It is under such compulsion as this that taxes, so called, are paid. And
how much proof the payment of taxes affords, that the people consent to
support "the government," it needs no further argument to show.
2. Still another reason why the payment of taxes implies no consent, or
pledge, to support the government, is that the taxpayer does not know,
and has no means of knowing, who the particular individuals are who
compose "the government." To him "the government" is a myth, an
abstraction, an incorporeality, with which he can make no contract, and
to which he can give no consent, and make no pledge. He knows it only
through its pretended agents. "The government" itself he never sees. He
knows indeed, by common report, that certain persons, of a certain age,
are permitted to vote; and thus to make themselves parts of, or (if they
choose) opponents of, the government, for the time being. But who of
them do thus vote, and especially how each one votes (whether so as to
aid or oppose the government), he does not know; the voting being all
done secretly (by secret ballot). Who, therefore, practically compose
"the government," for the time being, he has no means of knowing. Of
course he can make no contract with them, give them no consent, and make
them no pledge. Of necessity, therefore, his paying taxes to them
implies, on his part, no contract, consent, or pledge to support
them--that is, to support "the government," or the Constitution.
3. Not knowing who the particular individuals are, who call themselves
"the government," the taxpayer does not know whom he pays his taxes to.
All he knows is that a man comes to him, representing himself to be the
agent of "the government"--that is, the agent of a secret band of
robbers and murderers, who have taken to themselves the title of "the
government," and have determined to kill everybody who refuses to give
them whatever money they demand. To save his life, he gives up his money
to this agent. But as this agent does not make his principals
individually known to the taxpayer, the latter, after he has given up
his money, knows no more who are "the government"--that is, who were the
robbers--than he did before. To say, therefore, that by giving up his
money to their agent, he entered into a voluntary contract with them,
that he pledges himself to obey them, to support them, and to give them
whatever money they should demand of him in the future, is simply
ridiculous.
4. All political power, as it is called, rests practically upon this
matter of money. Any number of scoundrels, having money enough to start
with, can establish themselves as a "government"; because, with money,
they can hire soldiers, and with soldiers extort more money; and also
compel general obedience to their will. It is with government, as Caesar
said it was in war, that money and soldiers mutually supported each
other; that with money he could hire soldiers, and with soldiers extort
money. So these villains, who call themselves governments, well
understand that their power rests primarily upon money. With money they
can hire soldiers, and with soldiers extort money. And, when their
authority is denied, the first use they always make of money, is to hire
soldiers to kill or subdue all who refuse them more money.
For this reason, whoever desires liberty, should understand these vital
facts, viz.: 1. That every man who puts money into the hands of a
"government" (so called), puts into its hands a sword which will be used
against himself, to extort more money from him, and also to keep him in
subjection to its arbitrary will. 2. That those who will take his money,
without his consent, in the first place, will use it for his further
robbery and enslavement, if he presumes to resist their demands in the
future. 3. That it is a perfect absurdity to suppose that any body of
men would ever take a man's money without his consent, for any such
object as they profess to take it for, viz., that of protecting him; for
why should they wish to protect him, if he does not wish them to do so?
To suppose that they would do so, is just as absurd as it would be to
suppose that they would take his money without his consent, for the
purpose of buying food or clothing for him, when he did not want it. 4.
If a man wants "protection," he is competent to make his own bargains
for it; and nobody has any occasion to rob him, in order to "protect"
him against his will. 5. That the only security men can have for their
political liberty, consists in their keeping their money in their own
pockets, until they have assurances, perfectly satisfactory to
themselves, that it will be used as they wish it to be used, for their
benefit, and not for their injury. 6. That no government, so called, can
reasonably be trusted for a moment, or reasonably be supposed to have
honest purposes in view, any longer than it depends wholly upon
voluntary support.
These facts are all so vital and so self-evident, that it cannot
reasonably be supposed that any one will voluntarily pay money to a
"government," for the purpose of securing its protection, unless he
first makes an explicit and purely voluntary contract with it for that
purpose.
It is perfectly evident, therefore, that neither such voting, nor such
payment of taxes, as actually takes place, proves anybody's consent, or
obligation, to support the Constitution. Consequently we have no
evidence at all that the Constitution is binding upon anybody, or that
anybody is under any contract or obligation whatever to support it. And
nobody is under any obligation to support it.