I came across an article that neatly explains an idea I’ve often had trouble getting across without sounding like a lunatic: that no matter what the law is, it is always enforced with violence. Fines don’t count because there is still violence if you don’t pay the fine. But then there is a crime of failure to pay a fine. Not at all: if the state tries to fine you for a harmless act and then escalates to violence when you ignore it, that is the state’s doing.
Read the article, it is better than my summary. The point about escalation is made in a comment.
Found via a comment in a Samizdata post.