Good_Neighbors

GOOD NEIGHBORS

by

Russell Madden

George lives next to Joe on a dead end street. George knows Joe always leaves $1000 on his kitchen table once a month (just because…). George doesn’t have as much money as he would like. He has bills due (food or medicine or mortgage or whatever) that he cannot pay or that would require he lower his lifestyle to pay. George wants Joe’s money.

For each scenario below, would it be OK or not-OK for George to take Joe’s money?

1. George goes into Joe’s home and takes Joe’s money from the table.

2. George goes into Joe’s home with a neighbor because George is afraid Joe might try to stop him. George and the neighbor take Joe’s money.

3. George and a majority of the neighbors on the block go into Joe’s home because Joe now has a baseball bat. They take Joe’s money.

4. George and all the other neighbors on the block decide there is strength in numbers. They go into Joe’s home and take Joe’s money.

5. George and all the others on the block don’t like the hassle of visiting Joe and facing him directly. They also feel a bit uncomfortable, but they still want Joe’s money. They talk to Fred’s biker gang and hire the gang to go into Joe’s home. The gang members will take 50% of the money and give the rest to the neighbors. The gang members beat up Joe and take his money.

6. George and the neighbors tell Fred’s gang that they don’t like violence on their block. They suggest Fred’s gang just send Joe a letter that he must send the gang the $1000 or they will return and beat him up. Joe sends his money to Fred’s gang. Fred and his cohorts take their cut and send the rest to Joe’s neighbors.

7. Some of George’s neighbors think 50% is too much for Fred’s gang to keep. Those who are dissatisfied contact Jane’s gang. Jane’s gang agrees to collect the money and keep only 40% of Joe’s money. When the disgruntled neighbors tell the other neighbors, they are afraid Fred and Jane’s gangs will come into their neighborhood and fight for control. They contact both gangs and explain the situation. Both gangs agree to abide by whatever the majority of the neighbors want. By 51% of the vote, Jane’s gang wins the assignment. Jane’s gang visits Joe and explains the new situation to him. Joe says he understands and now sends his money to Jane’s gang.

8. After awhile, Fred’s gang decides it is unhappy not getting its monthly cut of Joe’s money. The gang contacts the neighbors and offers its services for only 30%. Jane’s gang counters with 25%. When the neighbors hold another vote, Fred’s gang gets in because the gang said Joe would also now be required to mow their yards. Joe now gives up money and time.

9. Some of the neighbors decide it’s not fair not allowing Joe to vote. After all, he is a neighbor, and all neighbors should have a right to participate in neighborhood activities. The next time a vote is held, Joe is given a ballot. He gets to decide if Fred’s gang or Jane’s gang will collect the money he sends in every month. Joe tosses the ballot in the trash. His neighbors accuse him of being a bad neighbor for refusing to exercise his right to vote. Jane’s gang wins the next vote by saying that Joe will now also be required to wash the neighbors’ cars. He will also be required to change his house’s color from bright orange (a color offensive to some of Joe’s neighbors) to beige. Joe gives up his money and more of his time. He repaints his house.

10. The neighbors decide that they don’t want to look bad in their town to those in other neighborhoods. So they open the voting to members of all neighborhoods. The majority of all the neighbors vote for Jane’s gang. Since Joe’s money is now spread among more people, the neighbors vote to have Jane’s gang take $2000 of Joe’s money. While Joe must give up his cable TV and trade his new car in for an old, used car, he still is able (barely) to make the monthly payment.

11. When the neighbors later vote to take $3000 of Joe’s money, Joe has to take a second job to make the monthly payments. This second job takes so much time, it is difficult for Joe also to wash the cars and mow the yards of all the neighbors in town, as he is now required to do. The neighbors remind him that regardless of how he feels or how hard to is to meet their demands, he is obligated to abide by the results of the voting.

12. What if Joe is required to pay $1 rather than $3000?

13. What if Joe is required to mow just one neighbor’s yard and wash one neighbor’s car?

14. What if the vote for Jane’s gang was 100% of those voting?

15. How is this situation different when the gangs are the different parties or branches of government? When the money taken from Joe is called “taxes”? When these taxes are called “voluntary”?

• Joe has a right to his life.

• Joe therefore has a right to the time that is the essence of his life.

• Joe’s mind and his physical effort (including that part of his life [time] needed to accomplish a task) is what transforms the raw material of the earth into (his) property.

• Joe needs his property: he is a physical being and requires physical sustenance.

• Joe has a right to choose how to use (or not use) his property and his life.

• If Joe does not have the right to control (decide) (own) his property and his life –– to whatever degree –– then Joe is an involuntary servant (slave) (to whatever degree) to whoever does have that control/decision-making power/ownership.

• Any action by anyone for any reason that limits Joe’s right (bounded only by the same right exercised by others) to control his life and his property is immoral and a violation of Joe’s rights and his freedom.

Persuasion –– not coercive, involuntary force –– is the only proper way to conduct social interactions. All voluntary actions among adults must be respected by all others.

That is how to be a good neighbor.

For an earlier treatment of this issue, see “The Miracle of Voting.”

For a PDF brochure of this article go here: Good Neighbors brochure.