In “Slaves to the Unproductive,” Ayn Rand argues against taxing the rich to provide aid to the homeless. She states that taxes levied for any purpose which exceeds the rights of life, liberty, property, and the pursuit of happiness is an overreach by the government, and its discussion should be framed not as rich vs. poor, but as the industrious vs. the unproductive. Rand states that there is no society, but rather individuals pursuing individual interests. She says that taxes inhibit productivity and promote “false altruism,” which functions to enslave the people and provide a select few with power.
Ayn Rand is correct in her assertion that the government should ensure life, liberty, and property. Her assertion, however, is short-sighted as she assumes that the nation in which individuals live automatically provides these human rights to all of its citizens. Rand’s idealization of society’s opportunities fails to account for those who are not given opportunity to allow for success. In order to cultivate people, and allow them to achieve their highest capabilities, the government needs to provide homeless people with the resources to attain property, a job, etc., thus allowing them their rights. Taxing the wealthy would allow homeless people to attain the same basic right of property, as most other people in society, without putting an undue burden on those with less resources. Homeless people have the potential to contribute to Rand’s concept of productivity, but first, the socioeconomic playing field needs to be leveled.
Rand’s emphasis on productivity has its faults, however, as society’s insecurities about under-producing leads to greed and a false sense of want. Wealthy individuals would feel the negative effects of a tax less than a homeless person would feel its positive effects. Yet, Rand’s obsession with achievement encourages individuals to amass a disproportionate amount of resources for a single person, and give little back to individuals deprived of these resources. Rand believes there should not be a greater tax on the wealthy, as it would “enslave” those who wish to collect superfluous amounts of wealth. Conversely, in a society which does not account for the homeless, everyone besides those with wealth are enslaved to a system which fails to provide equal opportunity for success.
Rand’s belief in an individualist society as “a collection of individuals pursuing their own interests” is outdated and impractical in an industrial and urbanized society. In a rural and isolated setting, individuals could afford to account for only themselves, but now that society has integrated, it has no choice but to organize. Society has not given homeless people the right circumstances to pull themselves out of their lower socioeconomic class on their own. For example, orphaned individuals growing up in foster care that are kicked out at the age of 18 may not have opportunities or resources to acquire a job at this a young age. Many of these individuals become homeless. Whereas individuals born in the middle class, for example, would have more opportunity to obtain a job or afford college, because they are born with resources to allow them to do so.
Rand’s concerns of “false altruism” in a collectivist society rest with the individuals who threaten to take advantage of the government power and resources, rather than the government itself. If a certain system encourages this, however, we must change the way of doing things to find a system that works for its intended purpose of ensuring resources and opportunity to the homeless. In an ideal society, like the one Rand describes, we would not have the socioeconomic disparity to equalize, and everyone could pursue their own interests. However, Rand fails to account for the inequality within the society upon which her assumptions rest.