Utilitarian Argument Against Taxes

I'm not a democrat or utilitarian, but one of the things I hear from time to time is the idea that Jesus was a democrat. At least, that's what democrats say to try to appeal to non-democrats (I think it's because it's assumed that a lot of non-democrats are into Jesus).

Basically, the usual assertion is that Jesus helped the suffering, so shouldn't we institutionalize the practice with government mandate?

The simple answer is "no." The complex answer is "no." And all other answers in between is "no."

The US government forwards 23¢ of every dollar it collects to help the suffering. Playing strictly on the utilitarian argument (I think a lot of democrats are into utilitarianism), if your goal is to help the poor and suffering, paying taxes isn't the way to go about it.

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Nov 06, 2009

adam said...

hear hear. if you want to help the poor, the governement is a sure fire way to not to do it. and lets not forget the classic from the libs, even the Christian ones, the early church was socialist, pooling their resources and distributing to those in need.

theres a difference between sharing resources with fellow believers to live in accordance with Christian principle and having your money taken (and wasted for you). thats something else altogether.

Anthony Martin said...

Yes, that is a good example. But there's nothing wrong with voluntary socialism. It only works for bootstrapping a society that has had an extreemly uneven distribution of wealth. And you'll notice, there was no central authority overseeing the process.

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