Four Theonomic Prohibitions of Socialism

1. The Eighth Commandment (“Thou shalt not steal”)

Suppose I want to install a security system in my home. I lack sufficient funds. May I put a gun to your head and demand that you provide me with the money I need for my project?

• What if my father confiscated the property of your father, and I proposed to “succeed” my father in this capacity? (“Hereditary monarchy”)
• What if my friends all “vote” for me to do so? (“Democracy”)

The anarcho-capitalist believes that nobody—even those calling themselves “the State”—can legitimately confiscate the property of others. “Taxation” is theft. And it is taxation that defines the State; private parties must rely on voluntary support for their endeavors.

The Westminster Larger Catechism - Exposition of the Eighth Commandment

Note: some anarcho-capitalists believe in self-defense. Others of a more pacifistic stripe are comfortable with a literal application of the Sermon on the Mount: “resist not evil.” Both parties would condemn taxation as the initiation of force against another, regardless of how they would personally respond to the initiation of such force against themselves.

Notice how these first two prohibitions come together in our current system of welfare. The "dominion-oriented" approach is seen in the parable of the Good Samaritan. He sees someone in need, and reaches into his own pocket. He may not have been rich. He may have helped the needy at great sacrifice. He did not rob the next passerby to support the victim of the first robbery. When a modern "liberal" sees a needy person, he does not take personal responsibility and act at great sacrifice. He robs the next passerby (taxation), pockets half the money he takes for himself, and hires someone to give the rest to the needy. The personal dimension of charity is lost both for the giver and the recipient. One act of violence is compounded by another.