Political Philosophies and Taxation - Essay Example

Political philosophies and Taxation There are various political philosophies in the world, and each of them possesses a considerably different view on the role of government in ensuring equality through taxation and other initiatives. This work intends to identify how liberalism and conservatism deal with the concept of taxation. In simple terms, Rawlsian liberalism claims that a just society has three qualities; a fair system of cooperation, a well-ordered society, and all citizens are free and equal (Rawls 87). In such a society, every member has the capacity to identify what is good, and has the right to discuss the concept with others and make necessary changes based on what is considered as the best for the society. Thus, it is clear that Rawlsian liberalism will support some kind of basic structure that is just. In sharp contrast, conservatism as a political philosophy advocates for the retention of the traditional social orders and institutions. Generally, the traditional conservatives oppose modernism and want to return to the traditional systems (Muller 36). A look into the history of Great Britain proves that conservatives like Burke justified aristocracy and the social order in order to preserve tradition, and for such people, community and social harmony were more important than social reforms. Over the years, conservatism took various forms with increased and decreased intensity, like liberal conservatism, conservative liberalism, libertarian conservatism, fiscal conservatism, green conservatism, cultural and social conservatism and so on (Muller 3). A look into the history of conservatism in the United States will show that its main characteristics over the years were support for traditional system, anti-communist attitude, demand for low taxes, limited rules and regulations, and a free market. In addition, one can see conservatives do not hesitate to criticize various environmental issues (Schneider, 45). This attitude was clearly exhibited by the stringent opposition to the rising role of government in health care. Thus, one gets an idea that generally, conservatism is against taxation. Liberalism and taxation Liberalism can be described as the political ideology which favors social progress by improvising laws instead of revolution. This social progress will touch all spheres including social, political and economic rights. That means this social philosophy advocates the removal of inequalities in all these spheres. According to Rawls theory of justice, states should possess enough power to take necessary steps to ensure that the poorest in society are as well-off as they can be. Rawls points out in his theory that an unequal distribution of wealth and income is acceptable if those at the bottom of the society are better off than it is possible under any other distribution (Rawls 85). According to liberalism as suggested by Rawls, it is necessary for the members in a society to decide a just social contract. Also, the scholar points out that it is necessary to eliminate the possibility of any morally arbitrary bargaining advantages from influencing the Basic Structure. In order to achieve this end, the scholar points out that all the bargainers in the society need to be kept behind a veil of ignorance (Rawls 113). That means the members are not aware about their natural gifts, social class background, and such other factors. These members would agree to two principles in general; firstly, each person has an equal right to the most extensive liberties, and secondly, social and economic inequalities should be arranged in such a way that the least advantaged gets the greatest benefit (Rawls 143). Thus, the Difference principle as proposed by Rawls is the very basis of the claim that taxation will be welcomed by liberalism. This principle claims that society can initiate such projects which require giving more power to some people in terms of income and status if the initiative meets two criteria. Firstly, it can offer a better life to the worst off by improving their standard of living, and secondly, access to privileged positions should not be blocked by such initiatives. This proves that liberalism encourages collection of tax and its redistribution in order to ensure equality in result. Showing close similarity to socialism, this philosophy promotes collecting money from people according to their ability and redistributing the same so that equality is achieved to a great extent in certain important areas. Thus, tax collection will be fully justified by liberalist states as the way to achieve equality. Admittedly, liberalism is based on the concept of equality of outcome; not equality of opportunity. In other words, the philosophy aims to create a society where inequalities are reduced by adopting various measures like transfer of income from the wealthy to the poor. In other words, liberalism does not mean that all people are treated with the same degree of freedom and opportunities. Instead, it says equality is achieved where people end up; not where or how they begin. Evidently, there is the problem that this is against individual rights and freedom to a great extent. To achieve equality in results, it becomes necessary to deny equality in opportunity for some. For example, government may resort to collecting taxes according to the financial capacity of people and utilize the same for the welfare of the poor. Thus, one can say that a liberalist state will readily collect tax from citizens and spend the same on public education because though this method denies equal opportunity for the rich as more money is taken away from them than from the poor, it will ensure that the poorest will get better opportunity to have education than in any other form of distribution. Still, in liberalism, individual freedom to make money and enjoy life is not restricted (Rawls 134), and collecting tax from people is not a way to rob people of their hard-earned money. In other words, it is a form of collective decision-making where the society decides to give a portion of their earning for uplifting the lower classes of the society. In total, tax collection for the purpose of public education will be justified by liberalist philosophy because it helps gain equality of individuals in the society. While a liberalist society retains the flexibility to decide who should pay taxes and who need not as it is a form of collective decision-making, tax collection for social progress is greatly opposed in conservatism as tradition is more important than equal opportunity. Conservatism and taxation Conservatism, in sharp contrast, advocates limited involvement of government and higher personal responsibility (Schneider 107). This philosophy points out that individual liberty and the traditional values are the most important things to be preserved. It emphasizes on individual empowerment as the way to solve problems. Thus, regarding tax, the attitude of conservatism is lower taxes. Lower taxes give birth to more enthusiasm in people to work, invest, and to engage in entrepreneurship (Schneider 101). In other words, the people who earn money know how to spend it better; not government. Another claim of conservatism is that various government programs to help the underprivileged will only make them lazy instead of encouraging entrepreneurship. This will make them more and more dependent on government initiatives to improve their living standards (Muller 23). In simple words, the claim of conservatism is that inequality in opportunity is not the way to improve the situation of the worst off. This attitude of conservatism is evident in its stance on the various issues of American society. To illustrate, while liberals feel that taxpayer-funded abortion should be available to women as women hold the right to decide what happens with their body, conservatives oppose this idea claiming that taxpayer money should not go to such controversial steps. According to them, an unborn baby is still a human being and abortion amounts to murder. Similarly, one can see strong opposition from the part of conservatives towards affirmative action law. According to liberalists, it is necessary for government to step in and take affirmative action to help the minorities who are deprived of educational and economic success. In sharp contrast, conservatives feel that preferential treatment on the basis of color amounts to reverse-racism, and this is against the concept of freedom and limited government. In simple words, conservatism is against the Difference principle of liberalists. Taxation and public education From the above analysis, it becomes evident that liberalism is in support of collecting tax in order to promote public education. This is so because public education is the best way to educate students equally, according to liberals. So, government should make additional funds to strengthen the existing public schools. On the other hand, conservatives claim that school vouchers are the best option because this step will encourage competition, which, in turn, encourages schools to improve their quality. Moreover, they claim that voucher strategy gives more individual freedom because everyone gets a chance to decide the kind of school they want. Conclusion In total, it becomes clear that out of the two philosophies selected, liberalism will support the collection of tax depending on the financial status of people as proposed by the Difference principle. Also, the philosophy allows the use of the tax money in such a way that the worst off get a chance to improve their position to achieve equality. Thus, the money will be used to offer effective public education; ensuring equality in result instead of equality in opportunity. On the other hand, conservatives will argue for low tax and more autonomy for people to decide the kind of school they want for their children. So, conservatives are against the concept of offering only public school education to all. So, collecting taxes to spend on public education will not be accepted by conservatives. Works Cited Rawls, John. A Theory of Justice. London: Harvard University Press, 2009. Print. Muller, Jerry Z. Conservatism: An Anthology of Social and political Thought from David Hume to the present. princeton: princeton University press, 1997. print. Schneider, Gregory L. Conservatism in America Since 1930: A Reader. New York: New York University press, 2003. print. Read More