The reactions of different governments to the epidemic have highlighted, yet again, that the time is now overdue to ask fundamental questions
about the purpose of government. How about this as a starting point: that government should confine
itself to doing what no other body can do? In this connection we have to
bear in mind that disputed areas such as teaching, and care of the sick
and poor, were, before the Reformation, carried out under the umbrella of
the Catholic Church.
Following on from there is the need for debate on
how the expenses of government should be paid for. The present tax
system is essentially a structure of fines and penalties for
successfully engaging in legal economic activity. That cannot be good
for the moral health of the nation, since taxes are the fiscal
expression of the relationship between individual householders and the
government.
A useful starting point for this discussion is Adam
Smith’s chapter ‛On the sources of revenue’, in the original text, not
an edited version. Smith’s is not the last word on the subject, but libertarians and others on the political right will find it surprisingly uncomfortable.
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