Posted by TheRadicalTrader on July 30, 19103 at 05:53:40:
In Reply to: Retaliatory force and Rational Egoism--some questions... posted by SBCore on June 18, 19103 at 14:38:52:
The basic reason to use retalitory force against one who intitiates it is, as I think you said, in the name of "justice", which is one of the six derivative virtues. Now, there is no true "revenge factor" in the use of retalitory force, it is merely a rational reaction to the situation. This man (or country, or whatever) has decided to sink to the level of a beast, where force is rule. Thus, rational men, knowing that such a man will not react to rationalism, treat him in the only respect that he himself permits. The retaliators do not gain a single value, they simply protect the values that they hold. I quote Galt, "A holdup man seeks to gain wealth by killing me; I do not grow richer by killing a holdup man. I seek no values by means of evil, nor do I surrender my values to evil.
Clearly, reason should be used to discover penalties, and that is the of the judicial system, which we, as a society, have given full authority to use force. Yes, action can be taken against someone enacting force against someone who is not you. A clear example is if someone beats up your sister, then you are fully in the right to act in a retalitory manner. But, this is not an altruistic action: the person who you act for must be a value to you, it is not your "duty" to act against force for every one of your neighbors (stupid Seinfeld series finale!)
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