Who doesn’t like socialism? Well, if you consider all that society provides for itself already, nobody shouldn’t like socialism. That is, rejoice in Socialism — cuz’ we’re already in it.
Who likes paying taxes? Well, if you consider calling them payment for privileges then maybe they wouldn’t feel like taxes. Let’s say we DON’T tax anybody’s income anymore. But then everyone would be forced to independently purchase things like the following:
Protection from:
• Foreign nation states,
• Criminal activity,
• Medical catastrophe
• Fire,
• you know, all those things a national, state and local government setup of systems does for our protection.
And then there are the perks we would each have to pay for:
• A maintained and well marked road system,
• A system of education,
• A system of justice,
• A system of water delivery and sewage handling,
• An electricity system,
• Systems for managing air traffic, boat traffic, compliance for building, food safety…
If you examine that list you’ll come to the conclusion that, hell!, we already are living in a socialistic society. Without all that money (taxes) to pay for all those common good services, we’d be a helluva lot worse off.
Now how about upping the tax on the wealth? “Booooo,” all the wealthy will say, but wait a minute Mr. & Mrs. Oligarch, do you like having a trustworthy banking and investment system? You like being able to buy and own vast swaths of land, buildings, planes and boats? You like living in a safe, well protected and just system? Well, it’s gonna cost ya… Because, you know, you wouldn’t be wealthy if We The People weren’t here to provide all of that protection.
One would think that a natural algorithm would be that the more wealth you possess the more you owe it to society as the protector and provider of that wealth. The fallacious theory of “I’m a self-made man!” ignores the fact that all of one’s success is based on living in and working with a society that provides all of the protections and benefits previously mentioned. No one stands alone. The wealthy tend to think it’s they who have succeeded when in reality it is society that enable all of that success. No society, no success.
If the wealthy don’t like this theory well maybe they should consider that in the coming apocalypse, when society has collapsed, dissolved even, and they’re standing there, alone, having to protect themselves, feed themselves, clothe themselves, shelter themselves and they wonder, “how can we rebuild our wealth?”, and the answer comes that you, they, can’t because they’re spending all their time surviving. Then they might realize that only a society can support wealth. And that the more wealth one owns the more one owes society for the opportunity to have acquired it.
Is this wealth hatred? Bah! A certain dynamic of wealth in a society is necessary. Achievable betterment, the lifting of station through education, ideation, creation and hard work should always be possible and acknowledged. But even then, such betterment is a function of society and must be recognized. Taxation is one of the tools for that recognition.
Without a taxation system, throughout its history, to build all of the protection and privilege systems I mentioned above, no society would exist. Without taxes (historic and present) I couldn’t ever have written this blog — nor could you been able to read it. Which, by the way, thanks.
Anonymole - apocryphal agitators 
You know all these foundations that the ultra-wealthy have? They are basically a way to preserve their money from being taxed and thus maintain influence. If they really wanted to give their money away, they would have just given it to the tax man. The flip side of your pro-socialist manifesto is that you are giving all this power to the State. In other words, you are effectively transferring the decision making about this wealth from people who made it into the hands of bureaucrats. A big, centralised State is scary animal
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Thanks for reading.
Greed will prevail — in all societies. It effectively cannot be stopped, I realize that. I just like tilting windmills for a time which gives me a smidgen of solace (pat pat, nice sentiment there Mole!).
“Manifesto” eh? Gee, thanks. I’ve never written a manifesto before.
The logic of the argument is sound though. The wealthy don’t realize they are protected by society and all that it affords, even including the opportunity to acquire their wealth in the first place.
Power to the state works as long as the turnover is fast and permanent. Allowing government officials to either stay in office for decades, or allowing them step into the lobbyist role — and then back into office; over and over, that should change.
In the end, only a GGR will make me happy.
Great Global Reset.
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I think resets tend to come with a lot of bloodshed, no?
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Do you see any other way?
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That’s a big statement there. You see a something like that coming?
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I don’t actually. If true, global, social change comes it will come in a thunderous wave.
More likely the divide will grow, but the bottom 90% won’t be oppressed “enough” to spur themselves to action. Boiling frogs.
The oppression would need to escalate to egregious levels and I don’t see that happening. Hey, give me my ads with a drop of content thrown in and I’m happy-as-larry, right?
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Yeah, I don’t know really. On the bright side, frogs actually do jump out of the water if it gets hot 🐸
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> On the bright side, frogs actually do jump out of the water if it gets hot.
No, that’s the point. They don’t. Increase the heat very gradually and you get a boiled frog. That’s where the saying comes from.
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I know the saying, but I think I saw the experiment on myth busters or something of that sort! https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boiling_frog Some life affirming science for you 🙂
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Well, OK. Glad to know we’re working with the same parable. If it’s not true, I’ll accept that correction. But the parable still works no?
Oddly enough, I just read this independent of this discussion. This was regarding the automation of most labor and work:
“The world no longer has a use for you. Anything you can do a machine can do better, and you are reminded of this all day, every day by society and the single omnipotent industrial corporation that oversees it all.”
It went on…
“When millions of people start seeing their purpose begin to erode and their dignity being stolen from them, the idea that there’s nothing left to lose starts to creep in.”
Will we boil or will we get so disgusted we bust up the joint? Again, as long as my entertainment continues apace…
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