I don’t think you can easily dismiss the argument that acting virtuously and honestly produces more utility in the long run. If everyone abandons this, then society falls apart and becomes a lot more miserable.
It seems like a tax system helps solve the problems in all of these hypotheticals by balancing people’s needs and desires instead of going to one extreme or the other. Of course, people have different ideas about what the exact numbers should be, and we can have an open and democratic debate about that. And maybe different adjustments make more sense at different times.
We shouldn’t force people to starve because one person owns all the food, and we shouldn’t take all of someone’s money just because other people are in need. But it’s still good to help others and it’s even better to help more.
I don’t think you can easily dismiss the argument that acting virtuously and honestly produces more utility in the long run. If everyone abandons this, then society falls apart and becomes a lot more miserable.
It seems like a tax system helps solve the problems in all of these hypotheticals by balancing people’s needs and desires instead of going to one extreme or the other. Of course, people have different ideas about what the exact numbers should be, and we can have an open and democratic debate about that. And maybe different adjustments make more sense at different times.
We shouldn’t force people to starve because one person owns all the food, and we shouldn’t take all of someone’s money just because other people are in need. But it’s still good to help others and it’s even better to help more.