There could be no better example of mistaking correlation for causation than Oliver Holmes' grotesque phrase "taxes are the price we pay for civilization". Sure, people are capable of unthinkable evils, but violence and oppression reach an unimaginable level when supposedly legitimized through elections, constitutions, religion, or tradition.
Taxes pay for those acts associated with uncivilized people. Civilized people deal peacefully with one another, participating in voluntary exchanges and interacting with others through free association. Coercion of peaceful people is barbaric. The rise of civilization has occurred despite the state, not because of it.
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