This &#x27;elusive&#x27; property is the idea that taxes are an indirect method of funding the police (as it is re-proportioned via much bureaucracy), while seizures directly fund the policeman&#x27;s wallet.<p>Obviously the latter is much more dangerous, because there&#x27;s a self-reinforcing cycle where the police spend their entire time stealing, instead of doing their government-defined jobs.<p>Indirection is important. It allows someone to give you goals that are productive, otherwise you would just steal from your employer instead of working for them (so they would give you money).