Real Revolution — Page 66
66 was one of a staggering nature. In fact even today it is far from having attained an undisputed position. . We find that in Europe there is a fairly large number of people who are opposed to the imposition of capital punishment, the argument they use for the purpose being that if it is a crime for anyone to take life, how does it become permissible for a . government to do so? But the fact of the matter is that the government does not only execute certain people; it also commits certain other deeds which have an appearance very similar to those of certain crimes for instance, it forces people to surrender portions of their incomes and properties in the form of taxes. It the objection mentioned above is held to be valid, it will have to be conceded that no government is justified in forcing people to pay taxes. But these people do not object to governments receiving taxes, which shows, in turn, that the objection against capital punishment too is rather a fanciful one, which springs from lack of due thought. . . The very essence of civilization, thus, is just this that all those actions which are considered bad and reprehensible, are called the basis of culture and human progress when a government has recourse to them. No one objects to these actions on the part of the state. But when an individual takes the same course, he is held fully guilty and