Most Famous and Influential Geologists

International Economics And The Field Of International...

I would like to mention some courses that I have taken at Knox College that not only have encouraged me to take up the particular field of study as a major, but have also fortified me to volunteer and intern in the field of international development. These courses are: International Economics (Manisha Pradhananga, Professor), Business Society (John Spittell, Professor) Environmental Natural Resource Economics (Steve Cohn, Professor) and Environmental Ethics (Bill Young, Professor). These particular courses had a great impact on my decision to pursue a major in Economics and a double minor in International Relations Business. In International Economics, I had written a research paper on low-income nations and their dependence on primary commodities for exports and its vulnerability to price shocks. I had carried out my research only keeping applied economics in perspective, therefore, I could not really understand as to why these low-income countries, although having a wide variety of natural resources readily available for production and consumption, still struggling to alleviate themselves from poverty and poor health. The reality and the real-life scenario of such situations was explained to me in the Environmental Economics class by Professor Steve Cohn. Toward the end of the term, I was assigned to write another research paper on greenhouse gas abatement options for third world nations. 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Business Capstone Project Finance and Tax

Question: Describe about the Business Capstone Project for Finance and Tax. Answer: Introduction: This literature review is going to focus on four major areas of the relationship between finance and tax of company. It will also highlight the relationship between the profit, revenue and tax and try to spot the key drivers of tax. Four key phases have been identified by the literature review. The first phase is referred to the effectiveness of finance and tax in an organization. The second phase will relate Administrative effectiveness in tax avoidance in companies in Australia. The third will look to highlight the management of tax risk in an organization. The fourth phase will round up with the The standoff between the Government and Australias mining industry over Resources Super Profits Tax. This literature review converses these four areas by reviewing articles and journals from the same field. 1st Phrase: Effectiveness of Finance and Tax in an Organization First article: Multinational companies are allowed to decide under which separate accounting rules they are to be taxed in relation to the firms behavior and tax revenues. Using different accounting technique leads to profitable productivity. It has been witnessed that generally the low cost and high cost firms are in the habit of utilizing separate accounting whereas the medium costs preference has been the formula apportionment. Symmetrical countries produce greater tax revenues in places with lower tax rates whereas asymmetrical ones prefer do not requires greater tax revenues because of countries valuing tax base deformation in a different way (Gresik 2016). Second Article: According to Anton and Constantin (2013), accounting information takes into account the consumers requirement of information which enables them to build a strong relationship. This article analyzes the various methods to examine the relationship of accounting-taxation relationship controlling the collaboration between the service providers of accounting and their recipients. The research intends in taking the opinions of the accounting professionals concerning about the relationship between accounting and taxation, and the importance they have regarding the business activities. Third Article: Managements important aspect is the financial implications and taxation inference of profitable conclusion. Approval from researchers and ones studying management may not be there regarding the modification of accounts for the reason of accounting which might present a profitable outcome of the business. Accounting facilitates decision making and control along with recording of some accurate information. Taxations main role is to lift revenue and boost up economic and social policy. Preparing accounts in different ways is acceptable through proper accounting standards but the preference is generally subjective to the taxation implications in an inappropriate way (Alzeban and Gwilliam 2014). Fourth Article: Companys accounting profit replicate the application of accounting values for valuing the accurateness in the activities of the company, while the tax income echoes the interest of tax administration. If the accounting interest and the tax interest are not on the same page, it is essential to resolve between accounting, representative of company and taxation being the representative of state. The income tax is stated to be the major expense of the company (Vera 2015). Strengths: The above analysis states that financial accounting and taxation plays a major role in defining a companys success story. Companies do indulge themselves in choosing separate accounting standards that suits them and their calculation of tax. Weakness: Companies believed that tax is a burden or an expense which sometimes gets out of control if not properly taken account of and companies do find ways to deal with the tax burden. Hypothesis: H0: Companies should be allowed to choose different accounting methods and modification of the same. H1: Companies should not be allowed to choose different accounting methods and modifying it for the same. 2nd Phase: Administrative effectiveness in tax avoidance in companies in Australia 1st Article: The authors Davis et al. (2015) examine the relation between corporate social accountability and corporate tax expenses. Existing theories and experimental studies have found pretty much inconsistency in the relation between the two terms and the author is in the mood to find out whether the two actions are substitutes or complements of each other. The relation between corporate social responsibility and the amount of corporate taxes paid are guesstimated. Proves are there where corporate social responsibility is unconstructively related to five year cash successful tax rates and extremely related to tax lobbying expenditures. 2nd Article: The article focuses on whether it is possible to guess a firms actual tax liability and taxable income from the admission of income tax under the current Australia Accounting Standard AASB 112 Income taxes, which affects financial statements for reporting phase starting on or after 1st January, 2005. The problems related with estimating taxable income from current tax expenditure whose disclosure is mandatory under AASB 112 (Tran 2015). 3rd Article: In comparison to many facet of the social responsibility of commerce, CSR has remained silent on the subject of payment of corporate tax. Corporate tax payment may frequently be avoided on a legal basis, though laws and CSR suggest a company has the liability to pay tax. The ones not staying on that track should be considered socially irresponsible. This article of Dowling (2014) highlights the issue of tax avoidance and the measurement of CSR. 4th Article: Tax avoidance is done by companies to reduce or lessen the amount of taxes whereas tax evasion focuses on the activities which are prohibited under the tax legislation like hiding foreign income or claims of fraudulent deductions (McClure Lanis and Govendir 2016). Strength: The above analysis has found out that tax avoidance effect is positive for companies that are well governed. There is a certain framework which is used by the managers in hiding the tax value and it is in a systematic way. Weakness: Avoidance of tax has been recognized as a global problem. Companies do channelize their profits in other countries which charge them with less tax in order to gain competitive advantage over others in the industry. Hypothesis: Ho: Avoidance of tax is legal from a companys viewpoint and can be adjusted accordingly. H1: Avoidance of tax is not at all legal and companies should pay it accordingly. 3rd Phase: Management of tax risk in an organization 1st Article: The article focuses on the contact of the recognition and management of tax risk on the income tax fulfillment and practices by Australian companies with turnover exceeding AUD 250 million with the help of a mixed methodology design (Lavermicocca and McKerchar 2013). Some Australian companies do have this tax management system in place which results in diminishing the acceptance level of tax risk and development in the level of income tax conformity. 2nd Article: A recent study has found out that Australian multinational companies along with the domestic ones are in the habit of holding large amount of cash in their balance sheets. The paper determines whether holding on to the cash has any direct effect on tax risk. Tax authorities can ask for future cash tax payments for which companies may cling to the cash so as to satisfy these future demands (Richardson Taylor and Lanis 2013). It has been witnessed that firms with larger cash balances have a higher risk than the firms who do not. 3rd Article: One of the most important factors of overall risk management for enterprises is the tax risk management influencing the tax cost and economic awareness. The characteristics of tax risk management of bigger companies are facing difficult challenges but are being possessed with the advantage of being under unified management (Meng 2014) 4th Article: The panel of authors Wheeler et al. (2012) inspects the sources of internal tax risk and the prescribed and familiar development for identification, communication and evaluation and resolution of those risks. The article also takes into account the evaluation of formal enterprise tax management policy. A survey has concluded that the biggest tax risks faced by companies irrespective of their size are the overpayment of tax. However the government has long been protesting that they face the difficulty of underpayment of tax. Strengths: It is the responsibility of the management to manage tax through a proper governance framework which will ensure all taxes to be managed in accordance with the prevalent tax laws in time. It is necessary for organizations to have a proper tax function objectives. Weakness: Companies do find ways to save themselves from the burden of tax. It is the problem of the management to think tax payment as a burden. Hypothesis: H0: Companies should hold or show larger amount of cash in order to pay out future tax payments. H1: Companies should not hold or show larger amount of cash in order to pay out future tax payments. 4th Phrase: The standoff between the Government and Australias mining industry over Resources Super Profits Tax 1st Article: The article takes into account the enlistment of various small sized and medium sized companies in the Australias mining industrys movement against Resources Super Profits Tax (RSPT). The articles have insights of top 18 industry players. The Australian Government anticipated that the companies would lend support towards the RSPT as promised by them that they would contribute towards the development (Gilding Merlot and Leitch 2016). However the industry leaders have pleaded to get some extraordinary returns against the odds. 2nd Article: It has been discussed earlier too that some companies are in the habit of holding onto cash, but certain changes in the tax legislation including some income sources will combine such growth with increase in the split in income they hold. The article studies the comprehensive tax reform legislation in 1985 which changed the top Australian companies who do not break up taxable realized capital gains from other taxable income (Burkhauser Hahn Wilkins 2015). 3rd Article: In the year 2010, the Australian federal government lost out on its battle with the countrys mining industry over the implementation of new super profit tax. The authors Bell and Hindmoor (2014) put forward the question whether investment in business is necessary for expansion or whether business will disinvest if new tax law is implemented. The area of concern was whether the foreword of new tax jeopardizes the investment along with employment and growth. This thinking lead to the abandonment of the tax from the industry. 4th Article: In the Australian business-government duel the mobilization of the mining industry opposing the proposed Resources Super Profits Tax (RSPT) was a highlight. This article of Gilding et al. (2012) investigates the news and analyzes the stories as was available in the leading Australian journals. In the buildup of this story it has been found that the social justice arguments have been marginalized. Strengths: The Government wanted to implement resource rent tax on all the non-renewable resources which would have enabled the government to deal with the risk of two speed economy. The tax if applied only to law would have recognized large investments that are compulsory for resource projects. Weakness: The mining industry believed that the implementation of new tax would have severely affected the investment policy. It would have jeopardized the whole situation. Hypothesis: H0: The implementation of RSPT would have affected the investment policy in the mining industry. H1: The implementation of RSPT would not have affected the investment policy in the mining industry. Reference: 1st Phase: Alzeban, A. and Gwilliam, D., 2014. Journal of International Accounting, Auditing and Taxation.Journal of International Accounting, Auditing and Taxation,23, pp.74-86. Anton, C. and Constantin, C., 2013. The AccountingTaxation Relationship In The Opinion Of The FinancialAccounting Services Providers.Journal of Applied Economic Sciences (JAES), (2 (24)), pp.133-140. Gresik, T.A., 2016. Allowing firms to choose between separate accounting and formula apportionment taxation.Journal of Public Economics,138, pp.32-42 Vera, S., 2015. Accounting, Taxation and Company Performance-Convergences and Contradictions.Valahian Journal of Economic Studies,6(3), p.27. 2nd phase: Davis, A.K., Guenther, D.A., Krull, L.K. and Williams, B.M., 2015. Do Socially Responsible Firms Pay More Taxes?.The Accounting Review,91(1), pp.47-68. Dowling, G.R., 2014. The curious case of corporate tax avoidance: Is it socially irresponsible?.Journal of Business Ethics,124(1), pp.173-184. McClure, R., Lanis, R. and Govendir, B., 2016. Analysis of Tax Avoidance Strategies of Top Foreign Multinationals Operating in Australia: An Expose. Tran, A., 2015, May. Can taxable income be estimated from financial reports of listed companies in Australia?. InAustralian Tax Forum(Vol. 30). 3rd Phase: Lavermicocca, C. and McKerchar, M., 2013. Impact of Managing Tax Risk on the Tax Compliance Behaviour of Large Australian Companies, The.Austl. Tax F.,28, p.707. Meng, J., 2014. CNOOC's Exploring Path for Tax Risk Management of Large Enterprises.International Taxation in China,6, p.019. Richardson, G., Taylor, G. and Lanis, R., 2013. The impact of board of director oversight characteristics on corporate tax aggressiveness: An empirical analysis.Journal of Accounting and Public Policy,32(3), pp.68-88. Wheeler, R., Conway, K., Curry, W.L. and Frank, M., 2012. Strength from within: Critical Aspects of Internal Tax Risk Management.Taxes,90, p.23. 4th phase: Bell, S. and Hindmoor, A., 2014. The structural power of business and the power of ideas: The strange case of the Australian mining tax.New Political Economy,19(3), pp.470-486. Burkhauser, R.V., Hahn, M.H. Wilkins, R. J Econ Inequal (2015) 13: 181. doi:10.1007/s10888-014-9281-z Gilding, M., Merlot, E. and Leitch, S., 2016. The power of hope: the mobilisation of small and mid-tier companies in the mining industry's campaign against the Resources Super Profits Tax.Australian Journal of Political Science,51(1), pp.122-133. Gilding, M., Merlot, E., Leitch, S., Bunton, V. and Glezos, L., 2012. Media framing of the resources super profits tax.Australian Journal of Communication,39(3), p.23.

Nozick Entitlement Theory of Justice

Introduction Libertarianism refers to a theory that advocates for individual freedom in terms of thoughts and actions, what will usually be referred as liberty. The ideology of libertarianism is founded on the principle of natural rights that existed before the advance of governments which is the reason that it advocates for personal liberty to come before the rights of the government.Advertising We will write a custom term paper sample on Nozick Entitlement Theory of Justice specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More As such, libertarianism advocates for two major forms of freedom; in transfer of personal property and own life which it argues that a person should live his/her life as one would wish and that transfer of property should be unrestricted as long as it is consensual (Conway). This is the libertarianism ideology that Nozick subscribes to and which forms the basis of the Wilt Chamberlain argument which is going to be the focus of our discussion in this paper. The Wilt Chamberlain Nozick argument is an attempt to provide redress to the unfair distribution of resources which has historically existed. To do this Robert Nozick attacks all forms of patterned theories of justice distribution on three premises which he justifies using the following examples; the Wilt Chamberlain argument, the self-ownership argument and the Kantian argument (Conway). In Wilt Chamberlain example, Nozick reasoning proves that no form of patterned theory of just redistribution is defensible in the long run; this is basically because of the fact that free exchanges between individuals will as a matter of fact disrupt any preexisting pattern of just distribution and cannot also be relied on to achieve future ones (Conway). Because all forms of free exchanges are just, and all forms of just exchanges disrupts â€Å"patterned† theory of justice, then it goes that all free exchanges of property can never be patterned. In a nutshell Wilt Chamberlain argument as advanced by Nozick indicates that â€Å"liberty upsets patterns†, an unavoidable outcome that can only be evaded by either limiting peoples freedom or in that case Wilt Chamberlain freedom if we are to maintain a â€Å"patterned theory of just distribution† (Conway). Throughout this discussion this is the position that this paper will be evaluating by critically reviewing all related arguments, its major critiques and finally why this theory of just entitlement is more practical to achieve and favorable as opposed to patterned theories of just distribution. Entitlement Theory Entitlement theory refers to a model which provides a framework that explains just exchanges in private properties among individuals, what Nozick refers as a theory of â€Å"distributive justice† (Conway). In entitlement theory individual persons are regarded as ends in themselves but not as subjects to other peoples which is one of the principles of morality t hat Nozick raises in the cause of this theory. The entitlement theory is therefore the foundation of Nozick perception of what justice in holdings entails and it limits.Advertising Looking for term paper on philosophy? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More As such this theory is central to Nozick objection on patterned theory of just distribution because of its inference on all patterned theories limitations and shortcomings on sustaining just distribution of properties. The entitlement theory has three important theories; â€Å"principle of justice in transfer, principle of justice in acquisition and principle of rectification of justice† (Green). The first principle of justice in acquisition attempts to describe how the people might have initially obtained and owned private property historically which Nozick reasons must have been unjust given that it was earned illegitimately through exploitation of slave labor. It is from deduction of this principle that gives rise to the third principle of rectification in which Nozick brings forth suggestions of solutions that should be adopted to rectify the unjust distribution and ownership of property as described in the first principle of just appropriation. Hence, the third principle advanced by Nozick of rectification of injustice is actually an exploratory attempt to find lasting solutions of addressing these historical injustices that led to unjust distribution of property and acquisition. Towards this end Nozick tackles the issues of compensation, restoration and so forth in this section as possible solutions that might rectify the current situation. It is notable to mention that Nozick third principle of rectification is specifically developed to addresses the failures of the theory of just distribution which he perceives to be ineffective. The second principle of just transfer entails the process of voluntary property transfer between individuals that i s made on the basis of consensual agreement (Green). Thus just transfer is described to have occurred when there is freewill and consent made by a person when transferring or acquiring the property. These three principles of property ownership is what Nozick identifies as necessary for a legitimate holding of property and just distribution in what he refers as the entitlement theory (Conway). In his own opinion Nozick provides only two possible scenarios of a legitimately obtained property which is if it was originally acquired or transferred in a just manner, anything else does not constitute just holdings of property (Faser and Nozick). It is from these principles that Nozick develops three major forms of arguments one of which is the renowned Wilt Chamberlain argument which is an analogy that attempts to expound on the concept of entitlement theory.Advertising We will write a custom term paper sample on Nozick Entitlement Theory of Justice specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Because the Wilt Chamberlain argument is founded from the three principles of entitlement theory, let us briefly discuss the Lockean Proviso which Nozick advances to support the principle of just appropriation which he says obliges people to appropriate natural resources in just manner that must ensure â€Å"enough and as good in common is left to others† (Nozick). Lockean Proviso The Lockean Proviso is a theory advanced by John Locke which is one of the concepts contained in his labor theory of property; Nozick modified the Lockean proviso in order to advance the self-ownership theory that governs the historical acquisition of property (Nozick). Though Nozick’s Lockean proviso is compatible with John Lock self-ownership theory it has slightly been modified to specifically provide circumstances under which acquisition and transfer of properties must occur for it to be regarded as just. The Lockean proviso that Nozick advan ces to define the criteria for just appropriation of property states that â€Å"though every appropriation of property is a diminution of another’s rights to it, it is acceptable as long as it does not make anyone worse off than they would have been without any private property† (Nozick). To determine whether a property was originally acquired in a just manner three factors must be shown to exist; one, the process of acquisition should not disadvantage others that relied on the property for their survival, two, acquisition should not be based on enhancement of the property and finally the acquisition should not contravene any of the principles of just distribution of property (Nozick). Having discussed the foundation of Robert Nozick entitlement theory and the concepts of libertarianism let us now take a critical analysis of Wilt Chamberlain argument that Nozick advances to show how all patterned theories of justice cannot be achieved. Wilt Chamberlain Argument Wilt Ch amberlain argument that Nozick presents in this theory is the ultimate example of how the concepts of justice and liberty are incompatible as far as patterned theory of just distribution of properties are concerned. In this argument Nozick does succeed in indicating that people’s freedom of choice, herein referred as liberty is the greatest limitation to any patterned theory of just distribution of property. This is because liberty provides people with leeway to freely decide and make choices in the way that they choose to transfer or acquire good. In doing so it is not possible to achieve any form of uniform (patterned) distribution of the same goods because liberty entails the ability to make arbitrary and random choice of actions (Long).Advertising Looking for term paper on philosophy? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More On the other hand a patterned theory of just distribution requires two important considerations in transfer of goods i.e. it must be just in accordance with principles of entitlement that we have so far described and it must fit a particular â€Å"pattern† (Long). For instance the distribution of goods should be equal and just among all subjects before and after acquisition, or it is transferred in a manner that maximizes its utilization, or distributed by any other criteria that would promote equality; whichever the pattern it should be just and patterned. But as we shall see to achieve this outcome it will be extremely hard and would ultimately require the sacrifice of personal liberty if a patterned just distribution of wealth is to be achieved. Let us now analyze the Wilt Chamberlin argument point by point; premise one of the arguments requires us to imagine a state where just distribution of goods has already taken place based on any of the several patterned theories of just distribution which we can choose from. Our interest will be in the following points that Nozick is going to raise in this argument starting with point number two; in this case several people are described to have freely consented to buy tickets in order to obtain rights necessary to see Wilt Chamberlain play basketball. This point raises two fundamental issues, one, the principle of liberty and two, theory of just distribution of wealth. Because the people enjoy the freewill to transfer their resources as they wish there is the aspect of liberty in this process of wealth distribution. The resulting distribution of goods leads to Wilt being able to acquire more resources than any other person in the society now that he has significantly higher amount that was contributed by several of the members in this hypothetical society. The question then becomes is this resulting distribution of wealth just? To answer this question will have to look more closely at what John Rawl has to sa y in A Theory of justice which we shall look at later on, but in a nut shell according to Nozick just distribution of goods is describe to have occurred if any of these two conditions are satisfied. For previously unowned property if â€Å"enough and as good is left to the others to appropriate† or if transfer of goods has been freely consented to; in our case the second condition applies and we can therefore determine Wilt newly acquired wealth to be just and legitimate (Conway). In any case the consenting members willingly chose to transfer this portion of their wealth in exchange of the luxury of watching Wilt play the basketball. This seemingly arbitrary action has two major ramifications in that one it upsets the just distribution of goods and two because of their choice another group of the society members would be thought to be far worse now than was originally the case before this choice was made by the other section of the society, an outcome that would make one ques tion whether indeed this transfer of wealth was just. These outcomes are the major issues that Nozick is raising in his theory of libertarianism which as we have seen are incompatible with any form of theory that advocates for patterned just distribution of goods. For example in order to sustain the status quo which would certainly maintain the original just distribution of resources which we had assumed to be equal and just for the sake of this argument, it would mean completely curtailing the liberty of people to transfer goods regardless of their consent, this is unlikely to be the case in any form of society. The other option would be drastic reduction of liberty in order to achieve a desired form of just distribution of goods which Nozick states is still unacceptable regardless of the extent of the limitation in freedom of choice. The reasons for this premise is best illustrated through another argument that Nozick illustrates, that of self-ownership which also justifies one of the principles that is expounded by the Wilt Chamberlain argument; that of liberty. The Self Ownership Argument This is the second most important argument that Nozick advances to justify and defend the theory of libertarianism; the self-ownership theory states that â€Å"individuals own themselves – their bodies, talents and abilities, labor, and by extension the fruits or products of their exercise of their talents, abilities and labor† (Dammon). Thus, because people own themselves they should be at liberty to do what they choose without being regulated by any form of authority, of course as long as their actions are not adverse to the welfare of the other members of the society. This principle of liberty that Nozick is advancing here is essentially the same principle that he is trying to defend in the Wilt Chamberlin argument. But the self-ownership theory is also trying to advance another line of thought; that of slavery, which again implies lack of liberty because individuals in this case are bound to work extra without their volition in order to cater for the welfare of others. This is what Nozick is referring as slavery, which is slightly so because there is no choice in failing to pay the tax (Birch). In extent other people ends up benefiting from this unjust distribution of resources, and not only this since this scenario also raises another important issues of morality. Because peoples are ends in themselves, moral principles demands that people not be treated as objects which is the case when they are exploited for the benefit of others; more specifically the resulting wealth that emanates from this arrangement can only be unjust. This is based on the second principle of entitlement theory which Nozick states must involve voluntary and free consent; since this is not the case, this wealth must be considered to be unjust. But it must be noted this is only for that part of the tax which the government collect which is not channeled towar ds the three key functions that Nozick thinks should be the role of a minimal State; protection from fraud, theft and security (Nozick). In the following section let us take an objective criticism of the various principles that Nozick raises in his discussion of libertarianism theory in general and more specifically in the entitlement theory. Discussion on the Critique of entitlement theory and Libertarianism It is a fact that all forms of patterned theories of just distribution are incompatible with the principles of entitlement theory or in that case those of libertarianism; indeed as we have so far indicated they are mutually exclusive. Having said that what Nozick advocates as the way forward out of this quagmire appears to be impossible to achieve; faced with a choice of sacrificing either the liberty that people enjoy in acquisition and transfer of wealth or disruption of patterned just distribution of resources, Nozick chooses to sacrifice patterned just distribution theory r ather than liberty. Being a libertarian, freedom of choice is a necessity that Nozick thinks should not be reneged for the sake of maintaining a patterned just distribution of wealth; the question then becomes is this option the most favorable to make under the circumstances. To answer this question we need to consider the implications that result from this choice as well as the principles that are contained in A Theory of Justice by Rawls. As far as freedom of choice is concerned most critiques of this premise argues that unrestricted freedom of choice negatively affects other members of the society that would not otherwise be the case if liberty was limited. However I find this not to be a serious objection because failure to choose is actually a choice in itself; in that case, the section of people that argues were made worse off by the choice of those who chose to pay for Wilt chamberlain ticket actually also did make a conscious choice of not paying for it. In both instance the aspects of consent and free will are seen to be present. In A Theory of Justice Rawls derives the First Principle of Justice and the Second Principle of Justice from one of the key theories that he discusses; the difference principle. The First Principle states that â€Å"each person is to have an equal right to the most extensive scheme of equal basic liberties compatible with a similar scheme of liberties for others† (Hikaru). This principle largely attempted to guarantee the basic human rights of all the persons in a society which is seen to be the case in this argument, this is because the liberty of the first group of people who to chose to buy Chamberlain ticket does not in any way lessen the liberty of the second group that chose not to pay for it. The next critique of Nozick theme is based on his self-ownership theory; true the inferences that Nozvick arrives through this stream of thought appear to be radical but certainly not outrageous. The point of contention in this case is not the moral or ethical issues that surround slavery, but rather the undesirable outcome that unwillingly forces someone to work without their consent for the sake of other people. This robs the individual a degree of liberty and propagates the distribution of unjust wealth; so to say that people who pay tax are essentially in control of their life as compared to slaves is a very flimsy argument that holds no water. The major characteristic and the only feature of slavery which makes it so evil is its nature that requires someone to work for whatever reasons, be it for good or otherwise without their consent in what amounts to coercion. Indeed the current system that has been put in place by the government to ensure compliance of tax laws amounts to coercion and forced labor for the simple reasons that you cannot earn unless you pay tax. Besides, taxation system is seen to significantly curtail the freedom of choice; its justification by the government therefore fails the test of objective principles of justice which Rawls describes can only â€Å"be chosen behind a veil of ignorance† (Hikaru). In any case Rawls theory of justice seem to agree that individuals should be left alone to decide whether to allocate part of their wealth by choice to less fortunate in the society because the government distribution system of â€Å"taxed† wealth cannot be said to be unbiased. In A Theory of Justice Rawls recognizes the fact that all individuals desire to achieve a desirable end through the application of principles of justice which requires just consideration of their fellow human beings (Hikaru). It is on this basis that Rawls advances the principle of fair choice situation which is aimed at providing a person with acceptable alternatives of arriving at a reliable determination of justice under ideal conditions. The principles of justice which is the central concept in A Theory of Justice ideology is developed through a process that Rawls describes as the Original Position which refers to a hypothetical position from which all individuals adopt when attempting to arrive to a certain principle of justice (Lennon). This is what Rawls refers to as the Veil of Ignorance in which he is actually describing personal biases or circumstances that essentially prevent someone or institutions in this case from making a fair assessment of a given principle of justice, which is the reason why the wealth distribution by the government is unjust. This veil of ignorance that limits someone or an institution from making an objective determination of principle of justice include level of intelligence, talents, social status, assets and strengths. Hence, the veil of ignorance that are described to exist in the Original Position are what enables an individual to determine and choose an ideal principle of justice that is free from bias (Lennon). As a result this perspective of Original Position leads to what Rawls describes as â€Å"a m axim strategy which would maximize the prospects of the least well-off† and therefore enable equal distribution of economic resources in the society (Lennon). But since this is not even the case no justification of tax should be presented despite the fact that this line of reasoning is beside the point of why tax should not be allowed; this is because tax cannot be justified even in circumstances that can be shown to lead to just distribution of resources. Nevertheless, this would be the position that the principle of justice would hypothetically hope to achieve when applied in an ideal society, but the same principle of justice that Rawls advances does also provide for inequality to occur in the society but only under specific circumstances, at this point this principle diverges from the Nozick theory of entitlement. Let us now finally discuss the third widely held objection to Nozick theory of entitlement which vilifies Nozick objections of wealthy people from helping the po or based on the morality principle which emanates from the Kantian argument. Foremost let see what Rawls has to say about this in his Theory of Justice; the foundation of A Theory of Justice ideology is anchored in two important principles. These two principles of liberty and equality are incompatible as we have just determined to be the case in Nozick theory of entitlement; this is because liberty will always upset any theory of just distribution or equality in this case. But just to mention Rawls attempted to reconcile this incompatibility using two different perspectives i.e. circumstances of justice and the fair choice situation which he concludes are the two circumstances that often confront an individual (Hikaru). But this is not really the point of our focus; in advancing the difference principle Rawls specifically mentions that inequality in the distribution of resources should only occur if â€Å"it is to the advantage of those who are worst-off† (Hikaru). Now if we look back at the circumstances that result from this new form of unequal distribution of wealth we get to see it is certainly not to the advantage of the â€Å"worst-off† who would be the poor, in this case it is the likes of Chamberlain who are benefiting from the proceeds of a just distribution. If this â€Å"unequal distribution† does indeed fail to benefit the poor are we not obliged to help the poor in this case in contravention to Nozick morality principle; I would concur, but first there are two things to consider. One is the conditions that I would be expected to be obliged in helping the poor, note that if this is enforceable for instance in form of taxes that would be contravening my liberty which would make it unjust. Two, we might need to determine if there is really any form of wealth distribution that can occur in a manner that can be described to be equally distributed among individuals in a capitalist State. Because neither the first condition nor the s econd can be guaranteed with certainty this objection to Nozick theory of entitlement is both valid and void depending on the outcomes of the two conditions. Conclusion Indeed no patterned theory of just distribution is defensible, yet we must have both aspects of liberty and justice to achieve an equal distribution of property in the society. By its own standards, I find the just distribution of property to have failed the test in more than one way; this is because if the original holding of properties were justly appropriated we will then have no basis to compel the likes of Wilt Chamberlain to provide for the less fortunate by claiming they owe them in their acquisition. I would suppose that everyone has the same amount of wealth originally, that is if we are to go by the principles of â€Å"patterned theory†, but we know this not to be the case which makes this theory unreliable. The patterned theory and all forms of just distribution also fails another serious test of it applicability because it relies on a clearly equitable system through which it expects to achieve an equal distribution of resources. There are two reasons why a patterned just distribution of wealth cannot be achieved; because of the capitalism system and the fact that States have always failed to choose reliable systems of equating wealth because they lack what John Rawls refers as â€Å"veil of ignorance†. A critical look at the concept of patterned theory that attempts to achieve just distribution of wealth indicates that it actually defeats this very purpose; this is because limiting the liberty to freely transfer property also ultimately limits the acquisition and distribution of the same property by the same extent. If the ability of people to acquire resources is also curtailed how is it possible to achieve a just distribution of the same properties? In such a predicament I would say Nozick principle of rectification does present a favorable option. Works Cited Birch , A. The Concepts and Theories of Modern Democracy. London: Routledge Publishers, 1993. Print. Conway, D. Nozick Entitlement Theory of Justice, 1990. Web. Dammon C. A Farewell to Marx: An Outline and Appraisal of his Theories. California: Penguin Books, Harmondsworth, 1987. Print. Faser, E. Nozick, R. Anarchy, State and Utopia, 2005. Web. Green, M. The Entitlement Theory of Justice. New York: Basic Books, 1974. Print. Hikaru, O. Ethical Theories-John Rawls: A Theory of Justice, 2009. Web. Lennon, J. Business ethics: Metaethics, applied ethics and normative ethics, 2009. Web. Long, R. Robert Nozick: Philosopher of Liberty, 2002. Web. Nozick, R. Anarchy, State, and Utopia. New York: Basic Books, 1974. Print. This term paper on Nozick Entitlement Theory of Justice was written and submitted by user Karsyn H. to help you with your own studies. 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