How the property is coercive violence move functions in the debate
Libertarians are not the brightest bulbs. So I want to explain how my obviously correct argument that property is coercive violence works in debates.
As a refresher, property is obviously coercive violence because it involves someone excluding everyone else in the world from some piece of the world without their consent and threatening violence against them if they do not comply with that exclusion. This does not mean you cannot argue for such an institution. It just means that your argument for it cannot be premised upon your being opposed to violent coercion. It has to be something else, generally some theory of positive entitlement.
Pointing out that property is involuntary coercive violence is useful when a libertarian argues against something else, say taxes, on the basis that it is involuntary coercive violence. Their argument in that case goes like this:
- If X is involuntary coercive violence, it should not exist.
- Taxes are involuntary coercive violence.
- Therefore, taxes should not exist.
- If X is involuntary coercive violence, it should not exist.
- Property is involuntary coercive violence.
- Therefore, property should not exist.