Synopses & Reviews
Is there a moral obligation to reduce differences in income and wealth? There is an egalitarian tradition that condemns these differences, particularly as they arise in free-market capitalist society, as unfair or unjust. The opponents of this view argue that the material disparities of capitalist society have been brought about by voluntary mechanisms and thus accord with the freely exercised liberties of its citizens. They conclude that capitalist inequality is not vulnerable to the ethical complaints of its critics. They maintain that the standard of living achieved as a by-product of the marketplace and its inequalities could not be adequately reproduced under egalitarian institutions. The essays in this volume, written by prominent economists, philosophers, and academic lawyers, assess the empirical and theoretical questions raised by inequalities of income and wealth.
Synopsis
The essays in this volume assess the empirical and theoretical questions raised by inequalities of income and wealth. Some consider empirical claims about the amount of equality in modern market economies, assessing the allegation that income and wealth have become more unequally distributed in the past quarter-century. Others consider the extent to which various government initiatives can ameliorate the problems inequality putatively poses. They consider which standards of equality meet the requirements of distributive justice. They also ask if inequality is intrinsically immoral, regardless of its consequences.
Table of Contents
1. Egalitarianism and welfare state redistribution Daniel Shapiro; 2. Does the welfare state help the poor? Tyler Cowen; 3. The stagnating fortunes of the middle class Edward N. Wolff; 4. Inequality, incentives, and opportunity Donald R. Deere and Finis Welch; 5. Misunderstanding distribution Young Back Choi; 6. Can anyone beat the flat tax? Richard A. Epstein; 7. Why justice requires transfers to offset income and wealth inequalities Richard J. Arneson; 8. The importance of being sufficiently equal James K. Galbraith; 9. Does inequality matter - for its own sake? Alan Ryan; 10. Equal respect and equal shares David Schmidtz; 11. Too much inequality Richard W. Miller; 12. Equality, benevolence, and responsiveness to agent-relative value Eric Mack; 13. How equality matters Hillel Steiner.