this post was submitted on 17 Sep 2023
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Taxes can be a tool for taking unjustly gained capital and redistributing it to the people as a whole.
That does require workers exerting power through and over the state, but taxes are simply an exercise of power towards redistribution of resources.
Not really though. The workers don't control the state, the owners do. The workers can't actually use the state to advance their interests. Every concession given to them by the owners is a) only given if the alternative is revolution and b) rolled back as soon as possible. Once the workers take over the state, taxes no longer serve that purpose but instead serve the purpose of smoothing out the money supply to avoid hoarding and accumulation.
Yes, in theory it would be great if we could tax the rich, but history shows us that we cannot, and ultimately theory has shown us the same thing.