Fairness of Land Value Taxation: A Rawlsian Derivation
Derives a justification for land value taxation from Rawlsian principles — behind the veil of ignorance, rational agents would choose to socialize land rent.
Summary
This 2024 paper grounds land value taxation in John Rawls's theory of justice rather than in efficiency or classical-liberal natural-rights arguments.
Key Argument
Behind Rawls's veil of ignorance — not knowing whether one will be born to landowners or to the landless — rational agents would agree to socialize land rent, because land is an arbitrary, unearned endowment and capturing its rent maximally benefits the least advantaged (the difference principle). This adds a distinct moral foundation to the LVT case, alongside the efficiency argument (zero deadweight loss) and the geolibertarian natural-rights argument.
Bears On
- Property-Owning Democracy — the Rawlsian institutional frame this paper's argument inhabits
- Concept: Georgism · Geolibertarianism
Sources
- Rhee (2024), "Fairness of Land Value Taxation: A Rawlsian Derivation," SSRN — used for the argument that an LVT can be justified from Rawlsian first principles (the value of location as a common asset owed to the least advantaged). Paper