I don't see any practical difference between not being free to live life on your terms because of a government restriction or because of poverty.
The whole purpose of society is that people work together for the common good. When resources are not distributed such that that happens then I don't see anything wrong with redistributing them.
Of course there are other ways. I don't understand this myopic perspective.
Society has a problem: poor people exist. There are a UNIVERSE of possible solutions. Charitable organizations, churches, help from family - the list goes on and on and on.
Yet here you are, saying "I can't think of anything we can possibly do except point guns at not-poor people, take their money, and give it to poor people."
The crazy thing is that I believe you when you say it; I think you're saying it in good faith! I just can't fathom how you reached that conclusion. It's utterly nonsensical to me on its face.
> Charitable organizations, churches, help from family
Those "solutions" are as old as the problem.
They didn't work.
> I can't think of anything we can possibly do except point guns at not-poor people, take their money, and give it to poor people.
The gun pointing happens as a last resort, not first.
What you are telling me is that we should just wait around for the greediest people in the world to charitably give enough back.
That's just not going to happen. We all know it.
So what you are telling me is that we should just continue the status quo, because doing something about it is technically immoral.
Meanwhile, the wealthiest 50 Americans collect as much wealth as the poorest 165 million.
Tens of millions of Americans are in poverty[1]. Is that not immoral?
Approximately 14.3 million households had difficulty providing enough food for all their members due to a lack of resources[1]. Is that not immoral?
You are so obsessed with the threat to inconvenience people who have more wealth than you will ever see that you are willing to keep millions in poverty. Get off your high horse. Children are starving.
Absolutely not. I am saying that property, as it is right now, is not ethical, as all property in its current state was originally, or derives from something that was originally, stolen.
As a result, accepting the current order of property can only be justified by utilitarianism, which also dictates that there is no issue with redistribution if it is helpful.
In essence, private property is theft, but there is no feasible alternative (for now), so let's still have private property in a limited sense.
The whole purpose of society is that people work together for the common good. When resources are not distributed such that that happens then I don't see anything wrong with redistributing them.