Citation 1:

“Taxation, Forced Labor, and Theft: Why Taxation is “On a Par” with Forced Labor”

Moore, Adam D. “Taxation, Forced Labor, and Theft: Why Taxation Is ‘on a Par’ with Forced Labor.” The Southern Journal of Philosophy, vol. 59, no. 3, 2020, pp. 362–385., https://doi.org/10.1111/sjp.12395.

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Summary:

            Taxation is on par with forced labor which is akin to slavery, a strong take on the methodology of taxes this journal pushes the socialist redistributive liberalism agenda in which if the people are to work to pay for taxes and cannot sustain a life without doing so in essence they are slaves. The author Moore continued this idea from Robert Nozick in which he sustained the same idea, Moore discussed as to how the most forms of taxation utilized by modern redistributive democracies are immoral. This journal stands more in the philosophy of economy rather than the statistics or analysis. For example, Moore used the “what if” case of where stranded people on a island enforced a tax system for the less fortunate, those who are doing most of the work for food or shelter feel robbed as their efforts are being spent on those who do not contribute anything. Furthermore, in the economy the labor force consists of the employed and the unemployment, those who are employed are active workers responsible for economic growth however, those who are unemployed are actively looking for work, however, they receive support from the government in which the taxpayers (workers) fund. Moore states that even in this policy these workers feel robbed and hateful because they are paying for those who cannot fend for themselves. This shows the morality of taxpayers they are being forced to be responsible for things they cannot afford.

Reflection:

            Although this is a derivative of the idea, but it still stands as to how taxation is robbery which in turn is the cost of our freedom. The morality of the taxpayers defines the consensus thoughts as to how they feel about tax which is understandable. This is by no means a criticization for the American policy on taxes but what most people pay goes to superficial projects on foreign countries or increasing militarization in these peaceful times. I agree with Moore in his theory of morality having to do part with how people view taxes which is best showcased by his many examples like the Violinist .