Property Rights, Coercion, and the Welfare State: The Libertarian Case for a Basic Income for All
The Independent Review, vol. 19, no. 4 (Spring 2015), pp. 515-529.
15 Pages Posted: 24 Mar 2015
Date Written: March 24, 2015
Abstract
Many libertarians object to state-funded welfare systems because they think that the taxation necessary to fund such systems violates individual property rights. In this paper, I argue that the best libertarian defense of property rights actually supports a welfare state -- in particular, a universal basic income.
Keywords: Basic Income, Welfare State, Libertarianism, Property Rights, Coercion, Liberty, John Locke, Henry George, Lockean Proviso
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