“Perfect freedom is reserved for the man who lives by his own work and in that work does what he wants to do.”

A fine notion. Completely undone by the IRS, et al.

A wonderful sentiment, but ignores the fact that very few truly "live by his own work", almost all of us depend upon the work of others in our societal connections... we eat food raised by farmers, we consume power from others, we use tools made by others, etc... and we depend upon the security and other services provided by our government, which are paid for by our taxes. So, to those who think otherwise: return to your caves and consume nothing you have not raised & made by your own hand... use no tool you did not forge yourself from the raw materials you extracted from the earth by hand.

Freedom means responsibility -- that is why most men dread it. To live by one's own work includes the ability to trade. Trade is the lifeblood of a people. Just because we are interconnected does not mean we are dependent. Yes, we are dependent upon air, water, food, land, and our own abilities to survive -- and every other animal on the planet has to deal with that fact every day. To lay claim to the labors and property of others for one's survival is NOT freedom -- it is theft and a corruption of the free association of individuals in society. Those that produce fuel the life of a people -- those that merely consume without producing and have no intention of producing are parasitical in nature and thus are held in little regard among the free. There is plenty of charity in a prosperous nation, and there are plenty of slaves in a debt-laden society that steals from each other to survive.