One of the reasons why I am against Julian Assange is that he is morally inept. That is not to say that I do not appreciate his campaign to achieve greater accountability from government; indeed everyone ought to be accountable, including himself. The problem though is that in his latest release of information, he is targeting taxpayers. His disclosure is flawed for two reasons:
1. The old problem of private records
2. The problem of 'no act of immorality'
He thinks that its hypocritical that people are hiding money in Swiss bank accounts. That is true insofar as politicians or business people who have benefited financially from coercion, i.e. Corruption, fraud, etc. But what of investors who do not support government taxation? What if you are a person, such as myself, who regards taxation as immoral, and that it ought never have been legal to steal from thy keeper. They are not hypocrites, they just have a different value system. If under the threat of a gun you do not tell the truth, that does not make you a hypocrite, it makes you practical. Ought these people fight against government and taxation? Well, I do. But that is their call. The problem is that these people are not so sure how to deal with the problem since most business and wealthy people are as morally bankrupt as Julian Assange.
If there are any people who are going to be hunted down as a result of Julian Assange; I offer you an olive branch. A moral defense of your rights to keep your wealth. It might not guarantee your protection, but it will offer greater protection that what you have now. I would happily assist in any class action against government if its a High Court action which will challenge the constitution of any Western government.
The implication is that Julian Assange has betrayed something greater than accountability....and that is freedom from tyranny. He is acting in the same moral shortsightedness as the guy who fights for Adolf Hitler because Hitler wrote the law. This is a strange 'hypocritical' approach from Assange because he is breaking laws with his misuse of information, as well as his efforts to escape legal sanction. He might claim to be acting legally (in certain jurisdictions). The reality is that he is avoiding court action - that is the opportunity to be accountable. I understand why. He might be persecuted in the United States....and yet he is prepared to expose tax evaders to the same standard - that is political persecution.
Perhaps he thinks taxation is moral and therefore that it is reasonable that these people be exposed for not being 'good slaves' who comply with taxation law. He ought therefore to reflect on why he needs to 'keep government accountable' and why they are able to so readily escape it. It is because government has too much power. The reason they have too much power is because they have a free hand with coercion. Reason is not the standard...extortion is. They have a legal sanction to coerce anyone into anything...subject to a very weak form of accountability in the form of electoral referendums every few years. The lack of positive participation is enough to make every voter passive, and the lack of real choice in representation is another part of the problem. This is the moral sanction that he wants to expose others to, whilst he hides from such sanctions himself. This is of course moral relativism...so why does he not grant these tax offenders their moral relativism if he sanctions it. Julian...you are a hypocrite mate! Don't stop what you are doing.....but please acquire some standards of moral integrity.
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Author
Andrew Sheldon
