Social contract - schmotial contract

2m read

·Nov 8, 2024

People who support the state often say that everyone who lives in the territory claimed by the state has implicitly agreed to abide by the state's rules; that by not leaving the territory, they've entered into a voluntary agreement. This agreement is often the basis for denying that taxation to fund a project not supported by the taxpayer is theft.

The implicit contract that statists say exists is known as a social contract. This contract has been compared to the implicit contract between a customer and a restaurant. I know about and agree with the terms of the implicit contract between a restaurant and myself. I understand that my ordering of food is the trigger that brings the agreement into effect, and that part of the agreement is that I will pay for the food I order.

But by contrast, I have no knowledge of the social contract that statists tell me exists. Since I have never had knowledge of this agreement, I cannot have given meaningful consent to it. Furthermore, even if I had known that there was a mysterious contract that I was being asked to agree to, I still wouldn't be able to give meaningful consent to it until I knew exactly what the terms were.

I don't believe that a social contract exists. If I'm right, then I can't have agreed to a non-existent contract. If I'm wrong, then I can't have agreed to a contract that I did not know was being offered for my acceptance, nor can I have agreed to a contract whose terms I have no knowledge of. Either way, I cannot have agreed to a social contract by living in a territory claimed by a state.

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Social contract - schmotial contract

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