In his Left Futures article on the 7th April, Intense Relaxation, David Osland took John McTernan to task for advocating tax avoidance as a ‘basic British freedom’ and for making reference to the political theorist Robert Nozick and his argument for freedom from taxation in Anarchy, State and Power (Basic Books, 1974).

The ideological libertarianism of theorists such as Nozick is rejected by those on that wide spectrum of political thought we know as social democracy, whether left or right leaning. However the discourse and principles of such an approach are much more commonplace and pervasive in wider society, an ‘everyday libertarianism’. This everyday libertarianism overshadows our political debate on tax and needs to be addressed by Labour politicians and progressive campaigners if we are to win support for a more redistributive tax system and for a Government with enough resources to support those in need and to rebuild our economy after the financial crash of 2008 and Tory ‘austerity’. Continue reading →