Control over our own finances is a more powerful motivator than confiscation, for whatever purpose. People are often willing to contribute to causes, but they reserve the right to determine which ones, and the terms of support. They do not want to have someone else decide what to do with their money.
People do not like being taken advantage of, and wonder why they should bear the costs (for example, of professional training) with no compensation, making their skills available to whomever the gatekeeper determines. But more than that, various inefficiencies creep in, for example, a shortage of doctors, or the reduction of standards in order to fill the need; the creation of a black market to avoid bureaucratic costs and restrictions, thus creating an economy more and more off the books; and the creation of a privileged class of nomenklatura, reserving the best for themselves.
The more personal the group, the more so it functions through bonds of solidarity, and a willingness to defer to the needs of the group. Still, one of the characteristics of the modern age is to liberate the individual from the oppression of clan and tribe, so that his loyalty does not entail complete submission...... |
