Have you ever noticed in your day-to-day living all the self appointed crusaders for moral decency out there? They come in all forms, from government bureaucrats to those street corner Christian preachers espousing hate and intolerance, not love and peace. I guess you’ll also find it little wonder that these moral crusaders are the ones who are attracted to the institution of government. There is no better tool for those that so righteously undertake moral crusades to clean up their community, society or the world. Little wonder, really. Government is a coercive institution, and as we are taught from childhood, it is a great tool for forcing large groups of people to do what you want.

Whether it be anti-smoking crusaders, anti-drinking crusaders or outrageous environmentalist crusader who propose taxing new born babies for the carbon they will produce, they are all attracted to the government hierarchy. They all seek to join and command the reigns of the biggest institution that specialises in telling you what to do with your body, your time, your money or your property. It matters little to them if their decisions actually make life harder for you, whether it be pushing for carbon trading schemes or saddling up and invading the closest Middle Eastern nation. Coincidentally, the crusaders who campaign for these systems or actions are usually those who either will benefit from it, or don’t have to worry about the effects of their idiotic ideas. Politicians are renowned for not needing to worry about working a wage, the price of fuel, the price of food or risking their life in a firefight. They are quite happy to let everyone else slave away, taking a cut of the labourers profits and using that cut to pay their own expenses only to hand him a rifle and tell him to venture overseas to murder people –for their country, of course. Likewise, there are many vocal minorities that have a keen interest in making you do things their way, for your own good of course. There’d be little fun to life if you were only given the choice between a puritanical work and prayer routine.

Yet, these people are the ones who desire to wage meaningless wars on terrorism, carbon, poverty, tax-dodging, capitalism, communism, drugs, prostitution, indecency, Islam, Christianity, free speech, hate speech and whatever else. Wars that can never be won and often only result in the creation of crimes that aren’t really crimes. Really, it’s not a crime if an individual with a disability has paid a women for sex — and before anyone decides to call me on it, I’m talking about real crimes; those that involve coercion. However, your run-of-the-mill religious fanatic, politician, cop would have no problem throwing both into gaol and condemning their soul to purgatory. For a real world example, a US police chief has appointed himself crusader of decency and ordered his underlings to crack down on individuals for wearing baggy pants within his district.

What this comes down to is, who gives you the authority to tell someone else how to live their life? No one. Who gives you the authority to “abolish” an act that isn’t coercive? No one. Wiser men than I have noted that if you do not have the freedom to harm yourself, express yourself, or control of the products of your labour, you do not have freedom.