The phrase was used by Dr. Garrett Hardin in his 1968 essay on global overpopulation, "The Tragedy of the Commons".
Oh, and the example Hardin explicitly cited as an example of mutual coercion? Taxes:
"Who enjoys taxes? We all grumble about them. But we accept compulsory taxes because we recognize that voluntary taxes would favor the conscienceless. We institute and (grumblingly) support taxes and other coercive devices to escape the horror of the commons."
Taxation is Mutual Coercion, Mutually Agreed On.
The phrase was used by Dr. Garrett Hardin in his 1968 essay on global overpopulation, "The Tragedy of the Commons".
Oh, and the example Hardin explicitly cited as an example of mutual coercion? Taxes:
"Who enjoys taxes? We all grumble about them. But we accept compulsory taxes because we recognize that voluntary taxes would favor the conscienceless. We institute and (grumblingly) support taxes and other coercive devices to escape the horror of the commons."
http://www.garretthardinsociety.org/articles/art_tragedy_of_...
The "just pay voluntary taxes" has been very, very dead for well over 40 years.