Posted by klausen on July 06, 2003 at 12:52:53:
In Reply to: Re: Microislet JDRF Hybrid Funding posted by Steve on July 06, 2003 at 08:44:49:
Well, if you are going to postulate that there will be charity to correct capitalism by a dose of voluntary socialism in the lifeboat example then you concede my point that capitalism needs correction to become moral. What if the person catching the most fish is a glutton and does not share anything? Wouldn't you have to force him to share if you were the captain (the government in terms of the analogy) responsible for the lives of everyone?
And while it may be true that there is little actual starvation in America, the life-destroying effects of the maldistribution of wealth are evident everywhere. For example, there are children who, if a progressive tax system had transferred another $40,000 from some millionaire to them, could have gone to college, but who instead never develop their potential because the millionaire keeps his extra $40,000 and spends it on some useless trinket. Even just in terms of the health costs of poverty, numerous studies show a high correlation between disease and low income, so you could say the minimally-progressive American tax system exposes many of its citizens to high risks of early morbidity or mortality just so more affluent individuals can have backyard swimming pools. What a sense of values!