I feel like the question of whether the rich deserve their wealth kinda misses the point. I think moral desert is an overvalued and overused concept.
Much more important to my mind is examining the potential effects of various taxation systems, and also in allowing for people to choose their governmental systems via emigration/immigration. At the very least, every person, when they come of age in their late teens / early twenties, should be empowered at that point to choose their country. This outdated notion of a country ‘owning’ the children born in it seems barbaric to me.
I think social contracts should be much more literal. As in, when you are an adult moving to a country and requesting citizenship, you must sign a legally binding contract involving accepting that country’s laws, including taxation. Most countries would likely include rules in their contract about ‘exit fees’ on wealth should you choose to emigrate from them in the future.
I feel like the question of whether the rich deserve their wealth kinda misses the point. I think moral desert is an overvalued and overused concept.
Much more important to my mind is examining the potential effects of various taxation systems, and also in allowing for people to choose their governmental systems via emigration/immigration. At the very least, every person, when they come of age in their late teens / early twenties, should be empowered at that point to choose their country. This outdated notion of a country ‘owning’ the children born in it seems barbaric to me.
I think social contracts should be much more literal. As in, when you are an adult moving to a country and requesting citizenship, you must sign a legally binding contract involving accepting that country’s laws, including taxation. Most countries would likely include rules in their contract about ‘exit fees’ on wealth should you choose to emigrate from them in the future.