Resolved: Redistribution is ethical

Seeing as I am Con on this resolution, I do not have the BOP to show how Redistribution is not ethical, because I'm not defending the resolution. However, seeing as my opponent will probably lay out a strong case, I will begin with some points of my own on how redistribution is not ethical. Redistribution is the taking of wealth from higher income citizens by the government, and spreading it evenly amongst those with lower incomes, in the hopes of promoting a higher standard of living. This seems like a very noble goal at first glance. An attempt to promote the basic standard of living must be moral and good, right? Not quite. Redistribution is the wrong way to go about achieving a good goal. I am not arguing against the objective, but rather the method. But first, let me show you directly why it is not ethical. C1: Redistribution is comparable to theft, an immoral action. Ethical, as defined above, is "In accordance with prevailing concepts of morality". Now, mind you, this isn't to be confused with the ad populum logical fallacy, where it is stated that the prevailing opinion must be true. Rather, this means that redistribution, as a concept, must line up with prevailing concepts of morality. One of the things redistribution is most likened to is theft, an obviously immoral act. But we can not just take this opinion and brand the whole concept immoral. First, we must see if there is any actual comparison. Theft is defined as - "the act of stealing; specifically : the felonious taking and removing of personal property with intent to deprive the rightful owner of it"[1]What is the difference between this and redistribution? There are two glaring inconsistencies at first glance. One, theft is outlawed, while redistribution, in a sense, is not. Since redistribution is an action taken by the government, it cannot be illegal. However, legality isn't in question here. Something being legal does not justify morality. I'm sure my opponent will not argue this. Second, theft is intended to deprive the rightful owner of their property, while redistribution is essentially the same action, just with the intent to give it to someone in need. The morality of actions are not based off intent to do well. If my friend complains to me about a person annoying them, I may be morally correct to want to help them. However, if I do so by insulting, harassing, or harming said annoying person, I am not moral in my actions. Likewise, I may have good intent when performing the action of taking your possessions, but the action's morality is no different. As the popular saying goes, "The ends don't justify the means. "And, as we'll see in a minute, the ends of redistribution don't quite fulfill the goals of the concept anyways. But to recap, since redistribution takes the same wrongful action as theft, then it is comparable (despite good intentions). Therefore, by definition, redistribution does not live up to prevailing concepts of morality, and is unethical. Moving on. C2: The moral goals of redistribution are not reachedAs I stated earlier, the goals of redistribution are quite noble. But the end result is disasterous, and quite unethical. While a higher standard of living is desirable, redistribution instead promotes a society where people are paid not to work, and lowers societal quality as a whole. An article from www. Americanthinker. com shows how this philosophy is flawed. "In fact, though, it is the defenders of big government who are being naïve and simplistic by believing they can "spread wealth" without harming the incentives to generate wealth. Better outcomes cannot be willed into existence. They come from millions of participants in a free market trying to win customers by innovating and driving down costs. When there is a level playing field, free enterprise spawns competition and cooperation that benefits us all with more wealth, more jobs, and greater choice for consumers. "[2]This is only logical. If you pay people not to work, and take the money of those that do, eventually the number of those who are being paid not to work will out number those that are paying to work. This is because those that are paying to work see that those who are being paid to work get just as much for doing nothing for society. But redistribution's harms aren't just theoretical. They're statistical fact. In . http://www.heritage.org...;'s index ranking for most economically free countries, we see that countries with highe respect for personal property and a free economy are doing fantastic as always. Hong Kong, the most free country economically, has a stunning 3.4% unemployment rating, and a GDP of around 350 billion dollars! Other free market (non redistributive) countries like Singapore, Australia, New Zealand, and Switzerland, join it at the top of the economic food chain. Meanwhile, some examples of countries that support redistribution and lack of property rights are. .. North Korea (Unknown economic status. Extreme poverty sepculated. )Zimbabwe (GDP of $6 billion, and decreasing. )Congo (GDP of $18 billion. )Not only is this sad for economics, but more importantly, it's sad for ethics. As we can see, North Korea, Zimbabwe, and Congo, are not exactly "human rights promoters", much less countries that support a higher than average standard for living. It gets even worse when other countries that are with them in the group of "no private property rights" include Venezuela, Cuba, and Iran. [3]So in conclusion:While I'm sure my opponent will put up an admirable fight (I wouldn't expect anything less), these two arguments alone weigh against his position quite heavily. To recap, redistribution is unethical, both due to its methods of thievery, and (less importantly) its failure to fulfill its goals and promote its ethical objective. Redistribution, as stated in the beginning of my speech, is an unethical means to get to an ethical (but ultimately unachievable) end. Thank you. Your move, Pro. I look forward to it. 1. . http://www.merriam-webster.com...2. . http://www.americanthinker.com...3. . http://www.heritage.org...