The following is a question that’s been sitting on my mind a lot lately and I’d like to hear everyone’s thoughts on it:
The argument for ethical veganism is that boycotting animal products reduces suffering by making factory farms “produce” less (if revenues from meat sales go down, less animals will be slaughtered etc.). To make the argument more direct (we) vegans often ask people to think about how many animals they will eat in a lifetime if they aren’t vegan. All those animals can be saved by going vegan.
So I was wondering, shouldn’t the same argument apply to taxes? Some of the government’s revenue from taxes goes to fund wars. Shouldn’t we be obligated to resist taxes (i.e. to not pay) so that the government brings in less revenue, so they spend less on the military, which may reduce suffering?
I sent this question to Brian Tomasik two days ago and he said that first of all, taxes also go to fund good things. Second, one can be punished for not paying taxes in ways that would inhibit their ability to do other good things. So the only reason to resist taxes would be as a publicity stunt to draw attention to the issue. Third, there are more effective ways of opposing wars (he said the military-industrial complex), like becoming a policy analyst or lobbyist on the issue. And as a final point, he said that opposing military spending might not be an effective use of resources.
Perhaps he is right, but I wanted to hear what everyone here has to say on this subject. Some of my thoughts:
1. Taxes also fund good things but we can give that same money to charities that do the same or similar things.
2. I’ve read up a little on the punishments for not paying taxes. Mostly what seems to happen is the government tries to collect and if it can’t it puts a lien on some property. But what if someone can physically live with these consequences without it hindering their ability to do good?
3. What if certain wars are utilitarian? Officially many interventions have humanitarian justifications. Is this true? And how would we know?
Should we Resist Taxes?
The following is a question that’s been sitting on my mind a lot lately and I’d like to hear everyone’s thoughts on it:
The argument for ethical veganism is that boycotting animal products reduces suffering by making factory farms “produce” less (if revenues from meat sales go down, less animals will be slaughtered etc.). To make the argument more direct (we) vegans often ask people to think about how many animals they will eat in a lifetime if they aren’t vegan. All those animals can be saved by going vegan.
So I was wondering, shouldn’t the same argument apply to taxes? Some of the government’s revenue from taxes goes to fund wars. Shouldn’t we be obligated to resist taxes (i.e. to not pay) so that the government brings in less revenue, so they spend less on the military, which may reduce suffering?
I sent this question to Brian Tomasik two days ago and he said that first of all, taxes also go to fund good things. Second, one can be punished for not paying taxes in ways that would inhibit their ability to do other good things. So the only reason to resist taxes would be as a publicity stunt to draw attention to the issue. Third, there are more effective ways of opposing wars (he said the military-industrial complex), like becoming a policy analyst or lobbyist on the issue. And as a final point, he said that opposing military spending might not be an effective use of resources.
Perhaps he is right, but I wanted to hear what everyone here has to say on this subject. Some of my thoughts:
1. Taxes also fund good things but we can give that same money to charities that do the same or similar things.
2. I’ve read up a little on the punishments for not paying taxes. Mostly what seems to happen is the government tries to collect and if it can’t it puts a lien on some property. But what if someone can physically live with these consequences without it hindering their ability to do good?
3. What if certain wars are utilitarian? Officially many interventions have humanitarian justifications. Is this true? And how would we know?