Justifiability of taxation in universal provision of healthcare

Abstract

This paper firstly addresses the question if taxation is justifiable. It draws from a critique of Nozick's entitlement theory and Cohen's contrasting view that private property is theft. By a consequent advocacy of the priority of society over an individual it claims that taxation is justifiable for the provision of public goods that are to the benefit of all. The second part of this paper applies the defence of taxation to the provision of healthcare to argue that a rights approach doesn't provide a sound philosophical basis of the universal provision of healthcare. By using the method of reflective equilibrium, it is evocative of egalitarian intuitions regarding disadvantage and shows that they present substantial economic difficulties. It further argues that an adaptation of the difference principle can serve as a useful departing point for defending a universal provision of healthcare because it benefits all members of a polity. The paper concludes by outlining some contradictions in defining the extent of healthcare provision and employing economic policies as well as by arguing that for a healthcare system to preserve the advantages of capitalism, -while providing healthcare to all- a salient compromise between free markets and state intervention needs to be maintained.