@Eiuol
I'm not clear what you are arguing. Is using your personal standards to judge the law and decide your actions accordingly right or wrong? Or that you only ought to break the law under exceptional circumstances in the context of a living in a liberal democratic society? Certainly the contexts in which vigilante justice in the traditional sense would be limited. What about defending yourself when it is unlawful to do so?
I also see exploiting invalid laws as essentially the same as using force yourself. The only difference is that you are co-opting the state and eliminating the legal risk.
@icosohedron
I was not claiming that, only that force is the means to defending values.
I was trying to ask a broader question of principle, which many early replies addressed well. I don't know how this turned into a discussion of how government should be funded. Tax evasion is just one relevant context that the principle of abiding by the rule of law can be applied. What about vigilantism? Or exploiting invalid laws to fight an enemy?
