Force
From Internet: Knowledge and Community
As Hospers states "Force is behavior that requires the unwilling involvement of other persons." Exploring a little deeper the term force as it is referred to by Hospers is with regard to the taking of ones possessions, or to the forced servitude of an individual, as well as unsolicited physical harm. Moreover, Hospers is primarily speaking of government and force, but he does extend the concept of force to include any entity that violates ones right to property, life, and speech.
The ideas and theories reflected by Hospers are obvious yet profound, especially with respect to government and individual rights. Right to property, right to life and right to free speech, it seems are at the heart of what it means to free. To be free of oppression, personal harm, forced servitude, and live without the fear of losing property, by eminent domain for example are very appealing, and should be paramount to the function of government. Governments influence on the individual becomes profound when it acquires the power to (legally) seize income. But is an increase in taxes a form of "forced" servitude or "plunder" as Hospers puts it? Could it be that when taxes increase an individual must expend more time and energy in order to realize the same amount of freedom? If an individual has less disposable income as a result further government expansion their freedom to pursue higher education, property acquisition, investment, and entertainment are proportionately curtailed by the marginal increase in taxes. Has government involvement in personal life become so common that we rarely question the actions of our elected officials with respect to new laws and or taxes. Do governments make better decisions then individuals with respect to property, life and speech. Even if this collective group of appointed officials exercised better decisions than the individual with respect to individual right to property, life, and speech, it is beyond the purview (or should be) of their elected position. Any change in the aforementioned rights without the consent of the individual could be a form of force. But what if the collective body of individuals prospers as a result of these government actions? As Hospers puts it governments should only exist to "protect humans from the encroachment by others."
