Property Assignment

I forgot to post the assignment last night.

Whoever makes something having bought or contracted for all other held resources used in the process (transferring some of his holdings for these cooperating factors), is entitled to it. The situation is not one of something’s getting made, and there being an open question of who is to get it. Things come into the world already attached to people having entitlements over them.”

The primary objective of safeguarding private property, is really the maximum type of state that can be justified. People’s talents and abilities to be an asset in a free community; many people benefit from individual talents, not the least of whom should be the individual. Holdings must be obtained and transferred according to the principle of justice, factoring in historical aspects, and the increased value of the property caused by individual efforts.

No one is entitled to a holding by applications of: A person who acquires a holding in accordance with the principles of justice in acquisition is entitled to that holding, a person who acquires a holding in accordance with the principle of justice in transfer, from someone else entitled to the holding, is entitled to the holding.

“Taxation of earnings from labor is on a par with forced labor. Seizing the results of someone's labor is equivalent to seizing hours from him and directing him to carry on various activities.”

(Anarchy, State, and Utopia, ch. 7)

Taxation is not only rejected because it is legalized theft but also because it is a form of slavery. If you do believe in self-ownership you must agree that this means that people own their time, talents and labor. Nozick argued the standard Lockean argument for private property that we produce goods by mixing our labor and talents with resources and goods in the natural world. If the government taxes our income it is taking away our time, talents, and goods produced by our labor. Taxation is the taking of our labor and talents by force which means that the taking means effectively that the government owns our talents and labor and so owns us. According to Nozick (and so very many others), taxation means that the government takes away our self-ownership which is called slavery.