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Culture War Roundup for the week of June 15, 2026

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Are these really the only options? What about wealth taxes as a good way to increase the wellbeing and opportunities of more people? Taking money from those who can easily afford it and using it to improve the lot of others in order to maximise utils or hedons or human flourishing, or whatever? It's not envy if someone actually believes wealth taxes are better for the wider populace, and it's uncharitable to believe all wealth tax supporters are privately just in it for the satisfaction of seeing the rich taken down a peg.

I'm skeptical that it's possible to credibly make such an argument, at least for wealth taxes of the level we're talking about. Perhaps it's possible to correctly make such an argument, but given empirical reality, it's hard to see how someone would have the credibility to judge it as correct. It's not a matter of private beliefs, it's a matter of motivated reasoning.