You (Probably) Won’t Believe in Capitalism Anymore After This Thought Experiment
Not too long ago, I came across one of these silly online personality quizzes. One of the questions was: “If you ruled the world, would it be a better place?” Most of us intuitively have the feeling it would. If only we were the ones in charge, everything would be better. That is because we have a vision of how we would like the world to be. The real question is why we have this or that vision. But before we begin our investigation, let me ask you to take a moment to consider the original question: If you were in charge, what would you do? If you could reset your society, redesign it from scratch, how would it be?
Would you lower income taxes and let people keep more of their earnings? Or would you raise taxes and create a more comprehensive safety net for everyone? You might argue that lowering income taxes would encourage people to work harder. That tax cuts would make it easier for them to provide for their family. Or, you might think it’s better if everyone took on more responsibility for the common good. If we all worked together on creating equal opportunities for everyone.
Of course, there is a lot more to creating a good society than taxes. But taxation serves as an excellent example of your general view of how things are connected. So, take a moment to reflect on this…