From the Giving Pledge to Totalitarianism
8/16/12
By Arnon Rosenthal
See also: "Obama's Shared Prosperity: A Euphemism Wrapped in a Lie")
Eighty-one wealthy individuals, including Warren Buffett, Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg, Larry Ellison, Carl Icahn, Ted Turner, Michael Bloomberg, and George Lucas, have joined "the giving pledge," committed to distributing half or more of their wealth to society. Likewise, Mr. Timothy Cook, Apple's CEO, pledged a corporate charity program matching donations up to $10,000 per employee.
There is nothing wrong with charity when the recipient deserves the help and the benefactor can afford it. The issue is whether one has a moral right to exist without giving away his wealth to others. The giving pledges imply that the answer is no.
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The idea that the public has moral and legal rights to private property and that the end of the public good justifies the means of taking from the wealthy endangers our prosperity, freedom, and eventually livelihood. It is a slippery slope toward totalitarianism. The history of socialism had taught us that without genuine property rights, there is no prosperity, no individual rights, and eventually no life. Even the most basic necessities cannot be produced if the public has the moral authority to confiscate private and corporate wealth. Unless we defend the moral right of the rich to own and enjoy all of their property without fear or guilt, we will not have the moral right to keep and enjoy ours, and the U.S. will cease to exist as a free country.
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Read more: Articles: From the Giving Pledge to Totalitarianism
8/16/12
By Arnon Rosenthal
See also: "Obama's Shared Prosperity: A Euphemism Wrapped in a Lie")
Eighty-one wealthy individuals, including Warren Buffett, Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg, Larry Ellison, Carl Icahn, Ted Turner, Michael Bloomberg, and George Lucas, have joined "the giving pledge," committed to distributing half or more of their wealth to society. Likewise, Mr. Timothy Cook, Apple's CEO, pledged a corporate charity program matching donations up to $10,000 per employee.
There is nothing wrong with charity when the recipient deserves the help and the benefactor can afford it. The issue is whether one has a moral right to exist without giving away his wealth to others. The giving pledges imply that the answer is no.
---
The idea that the public has moral and legal rights to private property and that the end of the public good justifies the means of taking from the wealthy endangers our prosperity, freedom, and eventually livelihood. It is a slippery slope toward totalitarianism. The history of socialism had taught us that without genuine property rights, there is no prosperity, no individual rights, and eventually no life. Even the most basic necessities cannot be produced if the public has the moral authority to confiscate private and corporate wealth. Unless we defend the moral right of the rich to own and enjoy all of their property without fear or guilt, we will not have the moral right to keep and enjoy ours, and the U.S. will cease to exist as a free country.
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Read more: Articles: From the Giving Pledge to Totalitarianism
