&gt; <i>When it comes to the question of how much of the money that I earn must be surrendered to prevent me from going to jail, the state is my adversary.</i><p>That&#x27;s your choice. You could also see it as paying your dues, or even as doing your part in maintaining your society. The optimal attitude is probably somewhere between those views.<p>&gt; <i>Taxes are routinely used to punish and influence people. Alcohol taxes, tobacco taxes, fuel taxes, they all have the dual purpose of raising revenue and discouraging behavior that the state wishes to limit.</i><p>Well, that&#x27;s the point of having a state. It&#x27;s often a good thing, especially in the examples you mentioned. One of the most important function of a state is to serve as a coordination enforcer - in situations when people, out of their self-interest, would predictably chose something that aggregated over the entire population leads to bad outcomes for everyone, the state is there to alter the incentive landscape and make sure they chose the better thing.