humanities.philosophy.objectivism

In article @u72g2000hsf.googlegroups.com>, cbell97@bellsouth.net says...

> Skip all you want, but it does not explain your and Prescott's
> insistence that the law comes into existence as if by the Magic of the
> Sovereign,

I don't claim any Magic for the Sovereign; indeed, my view is that we
can have law without a Sovereign. That's standard anarcho-capitalism.

> or that anyone has a "duty" to obey the law -- other than
> that of a chosen obligation to a political system that has created the
> law implying the same choice of obligation being possible to opt-out
> of the society.

First, there is a *legal* duty to obey the law - just consult the law.
But, is there a moral obligation? Well, second, I disagree that a
situation of free choice is presented in the context of political
obligation; the argument assumes that the polity has a right to put that
choice to the individual, and that assumption is, so far as I can tell,
false. But I've gone down that path with James, and I have no desire
now to do it again with you. Third, and much more crucially, why do you
think that choice or consent establishes an obligation? If it is just
because that is what it *means* to have an obligation, then I am going
to tell you that having a right just *means* that others have a duty to
respect it. Where do such claim rights comes from? First tell me where
does the moral binding force of consent come from.
...
> > Uh, Charles, I am an anarchist, remember?  The set {Bell, Prescott,
> > Sollars} does not contain a statist because *I* am in it.
> >
>
> And you have never given any explanation of how a government-less
> society can ensure conformity to rights-respecting behavior without
> the introduction of the anti-concept of moral duty or the real concept
> of rights-protecting government.

Nothing can "ensure" such conformity; "rights-protecting governments"
routinely fail to so. You seem to be confused by the State's propaganda
about what it can accomplish. For an explanation of how a government-
less society could nevertheless have mechanisms that tend to bring
behavior into conformity with the law - which is the most you can
actually get - you can begin with David D. Friedman's website.

--
Gordon