If we believe in the common good, then we should waste less time on the question of whether redistribution of wealth will happen. It will. We should instead argue more fiercely and openly about our spending priorities.

If we truly believe, as some among us seem to, that taxation is evil and wealth redistribution is always bad, then we must immediately abolish our entire military, Social Security, Medicare, all safety-net programs such as food aid and unemployment insurance, all public schools, all disability benefits, all business subsidies, all infrastructure funding, all public libraries and all funding for clean water and sewage treatment.

The result? Violence and mass death on a scale not seen since Europe’s Dark Ages. That vision for our future is not a hopeful one.

Civilization, according to Newt Gingrich, is bad, and American citizens possibly could be naïve or foolish enough to elect a person with this belief system to the presidency.

Nick Capo, associate dean and associate professor of English at Illinois College, writes as a public scholar and private citizen.