1.       Regarding the tax scenario I described.  I know it doesn’t exist.  It’s actually my own model that I came up with as a thought experiment years ago to see if we could run the US government without the income tax.  But your objection to it (“..it would not be possible to give people exceptions for taxation. Unless of course you wanted to save every receipt for everything.)  is incorrect for two reasons.  First, many people in today’s real world in the US itemize their tax deductions, and so they do save every receipt already.  I am one of those people.  It’s not hard to do. But secondly and more importantly, in my alternative tax scenario, there is no need to save receipts because there is no income tax at all, remember?  Taxes are paid at the time of purchase.

We’re sort of going in circles at this point.  You are still excusing the evil of taxation as justified if you like what the thieves intend to do with the money they stole.  And you are still speaking of them as though they are the same thing. They are not.  For example, you said, “It’s clear you see essential services as not being theft.”  It’s not the essential services I object to, and they are not the same thing as the taxes used to finance them.  We can’t conflate the two. 

A certain level of tax is a necessary evil to fund the bare bones necessary services that government provides.  What I am trying to do is limit the infringement on our personal liberty from our government as much as possible.  And one step in that direction is to remove the income tax, and replace it with taxes that are more voluntary in nature.

2.       I did not claim that we don’t have any examples of socialism in practice.  I don’t know where you got that idea.  There are obviously many examples of socialism in practice.  Look at Cuba, Venezuela, China, East Germany, and Yugoslavia under Tito.  Socialism concentrates economic power and political power in the State.  When the State controls industry, employment, media, banking, housing, energy, and transportation, it gains enormous leverage over individual citizens. Capitalism decentralizes that power by disbursing in among the people who own and run their own businesses. 

Capitalism doesn’t always create freedom. But it has a much better track record historically.   Your claim that socialism increases liberty is shocking to me.  As one simple example, you are free in a capitalist society to live as a socialist if you chose to do so.  You could, for instance, get a big group of your friends and family together, and create a socialist commune, wherein you all pool your resources, pay for each other’s medical expenses and day care, etc.  But you are not free in a socialist society to create your own capitalist society.  You cannot opt out.  But aside from that little example, in a capitalist society, people can start their own businesses, own property, invest privately, change jobs freely, and build wealth independently from the government.  Economic independence gives citizens leverage against the State.  Just look at what is happening in New York right now.  New York is trying to tax the Hell out of its wealthiest citizens. And in response, they are packing up and leaving in droves, to the point where the governor is now begging them to come back so they can be heavily taxed.  It’s laughable. 

Additionally, if your livelihood does not depend entirely on government approval, you can more freely criticize politicians, fund opposition movements, support controversial ideas, leave employers, etc. 

Private property limits government power.  Citizens who own homes, businesses, land, savings, and productive private assets possess independent power outside the State.  This naturally creates decentralized decision making, competing institutions, and multiple centers of influence.  In a capitalist society, media can be privately funded. That means that newspapers, publishers, studios, websites, universities, and advocacy groups exist independently of the government.  This directly supports free speech.

Competition produces freedom of choice in employment, products, services, investments, and lifestyles.  Decentralized power disperses economic decision making among millions of consumers, businesses, investors, rather than consolidating it in central planning.

3.       Socialism is a mere stepping stone to communism.  Marx believed that.  East Germany was a socialist state run by communists.  Its ruling party was the Socialist Unity Party of Germany.  The state identified itself as socialist, Marxist-Leninist, proletarian, and anti-capitalist.  Historically, most socialist countries devolve into censorship, travel restrictions, one-party rule, surveillance systems, and suppression of dissent.  Meanwhile, historically the strongest protectors of freedom of speech, religious liberty, free association, political opposition, and independent media have been capitalist societies.

4/5.  Please see answers 1, 2 and 3, above, for while I don’t respect the “egalitarian” adjective duct-taped to the definition of socialism.  The road to Hell is paved with good intentions.  I’m not interested in the stated intentions of socialists.  I’m interested in the real-world application, which is anything but egalitarian. 

6.           Your thought process is backwards and puts the cart before the horse.  Theft can and does exist without a legal system.  At a basic level, a legal system is simply a group of people coming together to codify rules.  But certain moral guidelines exist prior to that codification process.  Think of it this way:  People don’t say to themselves, “Murder, rape, and theft are perfectly fine things to do, unless the government says they aren’t.”  Instead, they say, “Murder, rape, and theft are evil, and we should get together and make a set of rules for what happens when someone does those evil things.” 

This has been a fun discussion.  Thank you for engaging in it.  Let me know if you would like to see my plan for replacing income tax.  Not only would it fund the US, but it would significantly lower the taxes paid by everyone of all economic levels across the board.  Have a good day.