this post was submitted on 20 Aug 2023
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Philosophy

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Question about #humanRights— Article 20 of the #UDHR¹ states:

“① Everyone has the right to freedom of peaceful assembly and association.

② No one may be compelled to belong to an association.”

How does that apply in the context of forced banking? If a government forces you to enter the marketplace and register for a bank account, does that qualify as being compelled to belong to an association?

¹UDHR: Universal Declaration of Human Rights

#askFedi

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[–] DannyBoy@sh.itjust.works 1 points 1 month ago (3 children)

I'm not asking for the sake of argument but out of lack of knowledge and out of curiousity. What government forces a bank account requirement? In my understanding, at least in my country, it's not required for anything, it's just a major pain to not have an account.

[–] soloActivist@links.hackliberty.org 2 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago) (2 children)

I don’t quite recall the context I had in mind when I wrote that post 1 year ago, but Belgium (for example) has enacted a law that all suppliers must accept electronic payment. It’s not just shops or b2b situations. It all-encompassing including self-employed freelancers. Even someone who rents part of their home out must give the tenant the option to pay electronically.

Also in Belgium: employees and contractors can only accept cash payment if they happen to work in an industry where that is common. So if you’re not (e.g.) a domestic worker, receiving cash wages is generally banned. At the same time, no matter what the situation is, a cash transaction can never exceed €3k. Buying a house cannot involve 1 euro of cash, which is strictly banned from all real estate transactions.

Many water and utility companies refuse cash. So if you consider the right to housing to include a right to water and power, then those consumers are being forced to use a bank. But that’s not apparently government force.

[–] DannyBoy@sh.itjust.works 1 points 1 month ago (1 children)

That's funny, this just popped up on my Hot feed. I thought these issues with Lemmy were all resolved.

[–] soloActivist@links.hackliberty.org 1 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

No issue there.. I cross-posted it today to the human rights community (which I did not know about at the time I wrote the post), since my question still stands.