Libertarianism, slavery and just taxation

Abstract

Purpose

The paper addresses the question as to what kind of a redistribution of wealth created within a society is righteous. It aims to show that philosophically motivated libertarian economic conceptions of justice designed to rationalize the unacceptability of progressive taxation – in particular conceptions of the Nozick type – are built on questionable bases because their proponents neglect facts that play a key role in the socio-economic reality of modern Western societies.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper presents critical evaluation of one of the cornerstones of the libertarian conception of economical justice. It makes use of a model example.

Findings

The scholars who approve of the regime of limited responsibility for the consequences of economic failure and yet make a claim for the unlimited fruit of one’s economic success adopt a problematic position that is internally incoherent.

Originality/value

The argumentation against the Nozick type arguments against progressive taxation is, as far as the author knows, original.

Citation

Svoboda, V. (2016), "Libertarianism, slavery and just taxation", Humanomics, Vol. 32 No. 1, pp. 69-79. https://doi.org/10.1108/H-05-2015-0031