One of the most profound changes over the past 40 years has been the ever-increasing concentration of wealth in the hands of a tiny number of individuals. This increasing dominance of billionaires—and how it renders us powerless to protect ourselves in the most basic ways—should be front and centre in the current federal election campaign. Instead it’s barely even identified as an issue.

From the outset of his political career, Stephen Harper’s overriding mission has been to dismantle Canada’s nascent version of social democracy and ultimately change the deeply rooted system of Canadian collectivist values that supports it. Over the past nine years in government, he has advanced toward that goal incrementally but inexorably.

It is the case that folks seriously interested in transforming society seldom consider achieving their objectives through changes in the tax system. Nevertheless, tax reform should be on the agenda of all those who want to change the world in more modest ways.