Taxation in Utopia

Donald Morris is Professor Emeritus of Accounting at the University of Illinois, Springfield. He is the author of several books, including Tax Cheating: Illegal—But Is It Immoral?, also published by SUNY Press.

"This is an extremely well researched and thorough exploration of utopian literature, effectively back to the beginning of the written word. Morris covers every major work of literature with a utopian element, and works through the tax (both pecuniary and constructive) present in all of these works. His explanation and analysis of economics and doctrine of tax laws is of the highest order." — Jennifer Bird-Pollan, University of Kentucky J. David Rosenberg College of Law

• AcknowledgmentsIntroductionChapter One: Taxation as a Moral Quest Part One: Taxation: The Tail Wags the DogAn Experiment in Shared SacrificeEnds and MeansPracticalityTaxation as a Moral Question of SacrificePart Two: The Construal of Taxation and of UtopiaThe Sinews of TaxationBeyond Revenue: Defining a TaxDefining UtopiaChapter Two: Privacy Deprivation as Taxation The Nature and Role of PrivacyThomas More (1478–1535): No Spots for Secret MeetingsBig Brother's Eyes in Nineteen Eighty-FourH. G. Wells (1866–1946): Indexing HumanityZamyatin (1884–1937): Who Are "They" and Who Are "We"?Expectations of PrivacyChapter Three: Taxing Access to Truth Part One: Plato and BaconOpaque GovernmentPlato (c. 428–c. 348 BCE): The Republic of LiesFrancis Bacon (1561–1626): The Sacrifice to SciencePart Two: Orwell and GodwinTotalitarian Methodologies: Orwell (1903–1950)William Godwin (1756–1836): Anarchist Tax PolicyChapter Four: Taxation by Required Work or Occupation Part One: Plato and MoreWork and InequalityMatching Specialized Abilities to Society's NeedsPlato (c. 428–c. 348 BCE): The Ideal Job in the RepublicThomas More (1478–1535): The Common Obligation of Common Daily ToilPart Two: Bellamy, Gilman, Wells, and SkinnerEdward Bellamy (1850–1898): The Industrial ArmyCharlotte Perkins Gilman (1860–1935): Half the Human Race Is Denied Free Productive ExpressionH. G. Wells (1866–1946): Labor Laws and the Insult of CharityB. F. Skinner (1904–1990): We Have Created Leisure Without SlaveryPart Three: Saint-Simon and CampanellaHenri Saint-Simon (1760–1825): The Human Spirit Follows a Predetermined CourseTommaso Campanella (1568–1639): Assigned Labor in The City of the SunChapter Five: Taxing the Family: Marriage, Childrearing, and Eugenics Part One: Plato, More, Bacon, Wells, and Le GuinMarriage RestrictionsFrancis Bacon (1561–1626): Marriage Except for the WiseH. G. Wells (1866–1946): Motherhood as a Service to the StateLe Guin (1929–2018): Anarchism and the Tax-Free Family in The DispossessedPart Two: Owen and GilmanRobert Owen (1771–1858): The Tax on ChildrearingCharlotte Perkins Gilman (1860–1935): Motherhood and Eugenics in HerlandPart Three: Skinner, Eugenic Tax ProceduresB. F. Skinner (1904–1990): Eliminating the Meaner Emotions in Walden TwoEugenic Tax Procedures: Campanella, Bellamy, Zamyatin, HuxleyChapter Six: Taxation and Land Proprietorship Part One: Harrington, Godwin, and OwenThe Land QuestionJames Harrington (1611–1677): Inheritance Tax in OceanaWilliam Godwin (1756–1836): Anarchy and Private PropertyRobert Owen (1771–1858): Peaceful RevolutionPart Two: George, Tolstoy, Wells, and NozickHenry George (1839–1897): Progress, Land, and PovertyTolstoy (1828–1910): A Landowner's Struggle with the Land ProblemWells (1866–1946): The Land Question in A Modern UtopiaRobert Nozick (1938–2002): Entitlement TheoryChapter Seven: Taxation Purged from Utopia Part One: Ayn Rand (1905–1982): Atlas ShruggedDisparate Social SystemsRand's Four UtopiasRand's "Tax" SystemPart Two: Robert Nozick (1938–2002): Utopia of UtopiasThe Most Extensive State that Can Be JustifiedThe Developing State: The First Four StagesThe Fifth StageTaxes, Forced Labor, and the Minimal State Utopia: The Minimal State FrameworkTaxation in Nozick's Utopia of UtopiasIn ClosingBibliographyIndex