CapitalistImperialistPig

Trump Treasury boy Steve Mnuchin recently opined that taxing millionaires to provide healthcare to poor is "theft." This is a good example of why I find it easy to refresh my hatred of libertarianism, at least in its current incarnation. A cardinal principle of libertarianism seems to be that individuals, at least rich ones, don't owe anybody anything except themselves. I regard this as inimical to the fundamental principle that allows humans to cooperate in groups, the sense of shared destiny and collective responsibility.

Let's add an element of realism to the libertarian fantasy of the previous post. We shall make our ten castaways, and on exploring the island they find themselves on, our hero, (whom I will rename from Able Abel to Cunning Cain), happens upon a pool of a stream, which teams with delicious fish and shrimp. He declares the pool to be his by right of discovery, and proceeds to profit mightily from its bounty. The rest manage to eke out a meager existence by gathering roots, berries, and grubs, except for hapless Hal, who broke his leg during the difficult landing. Cain loafs a lot, and trades a bit of his excess bounty for the better tasting berries and the sexual favors of the more attractive castaways, and generally has an easy life while Hal starves. We may apply again our libertarian questions: 1. Do the bottom nine have a right to tax Cain's surplus to support Harry? 2. Suppose Cain only produces enough food to support himself, and relaxes the rest of the day. Do the bot...

Every once in a while, when I'm not annoyed enough by ordinary life, I read some Libertarian nonsense. Bryan Caplan can usually be counted on to give me that feeling. From the link, here is a meme apparently circulating in libertarian circles: Suppose there are ten people on a desert island. One, named Able Abel, is extremely able. With a hard day's work, Able can produce enough to feed all ten people on the island. Eight islanders are marginally able. With a hard day's work, each can produce enough to feed one person. The last person, Hapless Harry, is extremely unable. Harry can't produce any food at all. Questions: 1. Do the bottom nine have a right to tax Abel's surplus to support Harry? 2. Suppose Abel only produces enough food to support himself, and relaxes the rest of the day. Do the bottom nine have a right to force Abel to work more to support Harry? 3. Do the bottom nine have a right to tax Abel's surplus to raise everyone's standar...