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What does the left want? A wealth tax. What will that accomplish? Very little | Aditya Chakrabortty
(www.theguardian.com)
this post was submitted on 20 Nov 2025
-4 points (40.9% liked)
UK Politics
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The people don't want a wealth tax specifically. They want to have the mega-rich taxed appropriately, including corporations. They want those making money out of them to have to pay for the privilege.
This is basically the argument of the article?
Maybe the article should've picked a less shit headline then. Reading the comments it seems many in here haven't bothered to read the article, myself included, because it's such a shit initial take.
I don't tend to comment on articles I haven't read, because I think it's stupid, but in this case I'm not inclined to bother reading the article because its title is stupid.
If you can't read a leftwing commenter who mildly disagrees with you on a specific policy without dismissing their arguments as 'stupid', I'm afraid the problem is with you.
I didn't dismiss their arguments as stupid, I've not read them. I didn't choose the divisive headline. If they wanted people to read and take their article seriously they should have chosen their words better. That is, after all, the whole purpose of writing an opinion piece, choosing your words to portray your point.
As it is, I and others in here haven't read the article because of their choice of words, and this post is sitting on 9 up and 9 down votes. Is the problem really with me?
This isn't left infighting over a specific point, it's just shite journalism.
You're merely a conspicuously belligerent example of the problem.
I'm not the one writing opinion pieces in a national newspaper that in the headline generalise the entire left movement, and sums up it will achieve very little.
If you can't see how that's divisive and puts people off giving up their time to read then I don't know what else to say.
No. It says a wealth tax will achieve little. Not that the left will achieve little. Please read... at all. The author is leftwing and obviously does not believe that the characterisation is insulting, or he would be insulting himself!
You are being over-sensitive by letting a generalisation upset you. And, yes, it is upsetting you, because your entire reaction to this has been to hurl insults and imagine ways to be offended. I am doing you a favour by assuming this is not how you behave when you're not upset.
You can argue what you perceive the title to say all you want but I think the downvotes speak for themselves. Both to the post and your comments (and I haven't downvoted your comments, only the post).
Without knowing the ins and outs of every author's politics it's impossible to judge their headline in the context that you're trying to give. Are you perhaps Aditya? Is that why you're defending this piece so much within the comments?
When you result to personal attacks that a headline is somehow upsetting me because I'm being oversensitive it's perhaps time to do some reflection on the point you're actually trying to get across. I've had a lovely day in the snow and just got home from a walk, I'm not upset.
This is just bad journalism that is being rejected by the community, a generally very left wing community.
I really didn't think I'd have to defend the proposition 'You should actually read things' today, but here we are.
While procrastinating between studies I have now read it, and it's as shit as the title implies.
"I know better than every leftist in the UK, from politicians of different flavours, to journalists, to unions, and they're all gonna fuck it" was my takeaway.
What a hopeless energy vampire.
"Please! No! Don't tax the lord billionaires! That won't work. What about that granny whose house has quadrupled in value while she's lived in it and made it her home? Let's plunder her first! Forget that it's not actually worth anything until it's sold and is currently being used for its intended purpose of being a home. That'll get the votes we need to raise funds for public services again. There's absolutely no way this could backfire. You see, the poor billionaire capitalist class aren't actually that rich and taxing them will raise nothing compared to taxing the wealthy working class!"