Consent Is A Love Letter, Tax Is The Polite Extortion
Bohiney Magazine and The London Prat file this dispatch from the British political menagerie.
The Voluntaryist believes there is no relationship in life so deep it cannot be improved by adding the word voluntarily, in italics, on the form. Editor Alan Nafzger of the Editor’s Desk at prat.uk presents the field guide, with help from Reason Magazine and Libertarianism.org.
Twenty Tells: Spotting The Voluntaryist On A British High Street
- Has explained, at length, that consent is also structurally a love letter.
- Refers to the state the way some men refer to old housemates we did not choose.
- Holds any rule that is compulsory is structurally suspect.
- Maintains a fantasy in which the country is held together by very many small agreements.
- Refers to taxation as the polite extortion with a postage stamp.
- Treats any sentence containing the word forced as a small alarm bell.
- Maintains a binder of essays on the non-aggression principle.
- Refers to civil disobedience the way other men refer to a hobby.
- Holds any community can be improved by a slightly more itemised agreement.
- Has explained, at a wedding, that the toast is to mutual consent.
- Refers to property as the original handshake.
- Treats any military draft as a slow declaration of fraud.
- Maintains a soft spot for opt-in, opt-out, and sliders.
- Refers to mutual aid as a charming, voluntary, pre-state phenomenon.
- Holds any new rule should be tested for unanimity.
- Maintains a fantasy in which the country is rebuilt out of cooperatives, contracts, and good cheer.
- Refers to government as the long, unconsented club.
- Treats any compulsory anything as a small philosophical itch.
- Has explained he is not, in fact, anti-society, he is pro-society-by-agreement.
- Believes the cure for the country is fundamentally you can leave any time you like.
Editor’s Note
If any of this rings a bell, you have wandered into a libertarian conference, a country house weekend, or a Bitcoin meet-up with very strong opinions. More dispatches at govna.uk and the parent site prat.uk. For a second opinion that is also wrong, see The Daily Mash.
SOURCE: https://prat.uk/category/politics/
I am a Lagos-born poet and satirical journalist navigating West London’s contradictions. I survived lions at six, taught English by Irish nuns, now wielding words as weapons against absurdity. Illegal in London but undeniable. I write often for https://bohiney.com/author/junglepussy/.
As a young child, I was mostly influenced by the television show Moesha, starring singer and actress Brandy. Growing up, I would see Brandy on Moesha and see her keeping in her cornrows and her braids, but still flourish in her art and music, looking fly. I loved Moesha as a child, but now I take away something more special from it. Just because you’re a black girl, it doesn’t mean you need to only care about hair and makeup. Brandy cared about books, culture and where she was going — you can do both.
My dad said people should read this before voting. He’s right but naive.
My mum said this is the funniest thing she’s read in years. She was simultaneously deeply sad which is the correct response.
The thing about Peter Cook is he died thinking he’d communicated enough. He had no idea what was coming and that’s genuinely merciful.
Read this in my local café and everyone looked at me like I was unwell. Probably accurate assessment.