Danny Duchamp

[there is a video version of this article here:  https://youtu.be/7F2IksW3J9g ] Liberty and property are such closely related concepts that it makes some sense to say that they're the same thing. They are different sides of the same coin, if you will. Here's why.   What Liberty Is   Liberty is the absence of coercion. If you don't agree that this fully describes liberty, you probably will after I explain that I'm defining "coercion" very broadly. "Coercion" here is any time someone forces something upon you against your will . [1] This could take the form of a threat (I might threaten to punch you in the nose if you don't do what I want—that would be coercion) but it could also take a more direct form (I might actually punch you in the nose). The direct violence is coercion because you (presumably) do not want to have a broken nose, but I am forcing that upon you. The threat is coercion because I am threatening to force direct violence upon yo

Video version of this article here:  https://youtu.be/USzFwIjafoU   [image source: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-pacific-10684399 ]   Almost everyone talks about "equality" as though it is an obviously good thing, but to me equality seems at best neutral and at worst dangerous . "Equal" means "the same". If I say 2+2=4 I'm saying that having two sets of two things is the same as having four things. Similarly, to say that people are equal is to say that they're the same. Do you really want to live in a world in which everyone is identical?   Now, you'd probably say that when you talk about equality you don't mean it quite that literally, but it's not clear at all what people do mean by it. So, what I'll be doing today is going through four possible definitions of equality that people might support, and I'll be explaining why none are worth supporting.   Actual Equality   Some say that believing in equality means you liter