When, in 1993, Michael Jordan announced his retirement from basketball, Chicago Bulls fans were bereft. He would later come out of retirement and lead the Bulls to three more championships. But suppose that, in 1993, the Chicago City Council, or, for that matter, Congress, sought to ease the distress of Chicago Bulls fans by voting to require Jordan to play basketball for one-third of the next season. Most people would consider such a law unjust, a violation of Jordan’s liberty. But if Congress may not force Jordan to return to the basketball court (for even a third of the season), by what right does it force him to give up one-third of the money he makes playing basketball? Those who favor the redistribution of income through taxation oer various objections to the libertarian logic. Most of these objections can be answered.Objection 1: Taxation is not as bad as forced labor. If you are taxed, you can always choose to work less and pay lower taxes; but if you are forced to labor, you have no such choice. Libertarian reply: Well, yes. But why should the state force you to make that choice? Some people like watching sunsets, while others prefer activities that cost money—going to the movies, eating out, sailing on yachts, and so on. Why should people who prefer leisure be taxed less than those who prefer activities that cost money? Consider an analogy: A thief breaks into your home, and has time to take either your $1,000Consider an analogy: A thief breaks into your home, and has time to take either your $1,000 at-screen television or the $1,000 in cash you have hidden in your mattress. You might hope he steals the television, because you could then choose whether or not to spend $1,000 to replace it. If the thief stole the cash, he would leave you no such choice (assuming it’s too late to return the television for a full refund). But this preference for losing the television (or working less) is beside the point; the thief (and the state) do wrong in both cases, whatever adjustments the victims might make to mitigate their losses.Objection 2: The poor need the money more. Libertarian reply: Maybe so. But this is a reason to persuade the auent to support the needy through their own free choice. It does not justify forcing Jordan and Gates to give to charity. Stealing from the rich and giving to the poor is still stealing, whether it’s done by Robin Hood or the state. Consider this analogy: Just because a patient on dialysis needs one of my kidneys more than I do (assuming I have two healthy ones) doesn’t mean he has a right to it. Nor may the state lay claim to one of my kidneys to help the dialysis patient, however urgent and pressing his needs may be. Why not? Because it’s mine. Needs don’t trump my fundamental right to do what I want with the things I own.Objection 3: Michael Jordan doesn’t play alone. He therefore owes a debt to those who contribute to his success. Libertarian reply: It’s true that Jordan’s success depends on other people. Basketball is a team sport. People would not have paid $31 million to watch him shoot free-throws by himself on an empty court. He could never have made all that money without teammates, coaches, trainers, referees, broadcasters, stadium maintenance workers, and so on. But these people have already been paid the market value of their services. Although they make less than Jordan, they voluntarily accepted compensation for the jobs they perform. So there is no reason to suppose that Jordan owes them a portion of his earnings. And even if Jordan owes something to his teammates and coaches, it is hard to see how this debt justies taxing his earnings to provide food stamps for the hungry or public housing for the homeless.Objection 4: Jordan is not really being taxed without his consent. As a citizen of a democracy, he has a voice in making the tax laws to which he is subject. Libertarian reply: Democratic consent is not enough. Suppose Jordan voted against the tax law, but it passed anyway. Wouldn’t the IRS still insist that he pay? It certainly would. You might argue that by living in this society, Jordan gives his consent (at least implicitly) to abide by the majority’s will and obey the laws. But does this mean that simply by living here as citizens, we write the majority a blank check, and consent in advance to all laws, however unjust? If so, the majority may tax the minority, even conscate its wealth and property, against its will. What then becomes of individual rights? If democratic consent justies the taking of property, does it also justify the taking of liberty? May the majority deprive me of freedom of speech and of religion, claiming that, as a democratic citizen, I have already given my consent to whatever it decides?whatever it decides? The libertarian has a ready response to each of the rst four objections. But a further objection is less easy to dismiss:
Objection 5: Jordan is lucky. He is fortunate to possess the talent to excel at basketball, and l
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