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>> What you do with your labour is a strong right that is deeply connected to bodily autonomy Taxing people at different rates based on the decisions they make
by rufus_foreman 4y ago
>> What you do with your labour is a strong right that is deeply connected to bodily autonomy
Taxing people at different rates based on the decisions they make is not taking away bodily autonomy. Taxing someone at a higher rate if they choose not to have children does not force them to have children. The teacher isn't forced to become a software developer. There are just tax implications for the decisions one makes, as there are already now.
And I don't agree that property rights are weak rights. Property rights are at the very core of a free society.
- TimPC 4y agoBy weak right I mean that they are socially constructed and thus depend on society. By strong right I mean they come from nature and don’t depend on society. Many of the classical philosophers have made strong arguments for the right of bodily autonomy extending to ownership of your labour both in the sense of owning your choice of what to do and owning the fruits of your labours. Income tax is government interfering with your ownership of your own labour which violates this sense of bodily autonomy. You might argue for a weaker notion of bodily autonomy but doing so requires some substantial moral argumentation rather than mere assertion. As to the idea that property rights are at the core to a free society, can you provide me with an example? Since we are discussing the idea that taxation would be a violation of a property right what I’d like to see is a society where having untaxed land is core to the freeness of society.