Of A More Civilised Persuasion

Through Samizdata here is a post as to the why it is good to let people be armed. However it also summarizes why it is negative liberty (true liberty) that is more important than the so called positive liberties that come through being coerced, either for your own or for somebody else's good.

Human beings only have two ways to deal with one another: reason and force. If you want me to do something for you, you have a choice of either convincing me via argument, or force me to do your bidding under threat of force. ...

In a truly moral and civilized society, people exclusively interact through persuasion.

If somebody does not want to do something of their own free will they will have a reason, and because their knowledge of their individual position is better than yours normally they will be right. Therefore normally whenever a rational adult has to be forced to do something against their will the negative effects that to them that the person with the whip hand may not know about will normally out weight whatever positive effect they are being forced into. However if given evidence and arguments about the choices a rational adult should be able to see for themselves which one is best for them. Should this turn out to be the choice that would have been forced then not only will all the negative utility that comes with having to force somebody to do something be avoided they will likely pursue it with more vigour since they can see for themselves that it is the right think to do.