Taxes on Capital Flight?

Submitted by Is There No Al… on October 25, 2019

A defence of the Green New Deal I've seen from its proponents in response to communist critiques that it would just provoke capital flight is that capital outflows could be apparently taxed, like they were by the Ecuadorian Government under Rafael Correa. Could the feasibility of a GND really be propped up by capital control measures like this?

adri

4 years 5 months ago

In reply to by libcom.org

Submitted by adri on October 26, 2019

GND being a capitalist proposal still based in accumulating capital, the antagonism between workers and capitalists, the contradictions inherent in capitalist production, etc., I think would make it not likely to succeed in dealing with climate change. The aim of capitalist production after all is not directly meeting people's needs or ensuring the planet is inhabitable, but the production of surplus value. It's not as if the capitalist class can't also use their wealth and power to avoid taxes or to influence government in their favor as has always been the case.