Abstract
This paper firstly addresses the question if taxation is justifiable. It draws from a critique of Nozick's entitlement theory and Cohen's contrasting view that private property is theft.
By a consequent advocacy of the priority of society over an individual it claims that taxation is justifiable for the provision of public goods that are to the benefit of all. The second part of this paper applies the defence of taxation to the provision of healthcare.
The paper argues that a rights approach doesn't provide a sound philosophical basis of universal provision of healthcare. By using the method of reflective equilibrium it draws on egalitarian intuitions regarding disadvantage and shows that they present substantial economic difficulties.
It further argues that an adaptation of the difference principle can serve as a useful departing point for defending a universal provision of healthcare because it benefits all members of a polity. The paper concludes by outlining some difficulties in stating the extent of healthcare provision and in setting economic policies and by arguing that for a healthcare system to preserve the advantages of capitalism, while providing healthcare to all, needs to accept a compromise between free markets and state intervention.