Capitalist
societies are full of unacceptable inequalities. Freedom is of
paramount importance. These two convictions are widely shared across
the world, yet they seem to be completely contradictory with each
other. Fighting inequality jeopardizes freedom, and taking freedom
seriously boosts inequality. Can this conflict be resolved? In this
ground-breaking book, Philippe Van Parijs sets out a new and
compelling case for a just society. Assessing and rejecting the
claims of both socialism and conventional capitalism, he presents a
clear and compelling alternative vision of the just society: a
capitalist society offering a substantial and unconditional basic
income to all its members. Not just an exercise in political theory,
this book goes on to show what his ideal of a free society means in
the real world by drawing out its policy implications. It will be
essential reading for anyone concerned about the just society and the
welfare state as we move into the twenty-first century.
What
is a just society? It is a society in which the real freedom to do
whatever one might wish to do is fairly distributed among all. This
conception of social justice combines freedom, equality, and
efficiency. It justifies granting to each citizen an unconditional
basic income at the highest sustainable level consistent with two
conditions: respect for everyone's formal freedom and an appropriate
level of resources target at the less able. Is such an unconditional
basic income not a recipe for exploitation of the hard workers by the
lazy? Not in any sense that makes exploitation intrinsically unjust.
Can a higher unconditional basic income be sustainably achieved under
capitalism than under socialism? There are empirical and theoretical
reasons to think so. But only the effective presence of such a
powerful and liberating distributive mechanism can justify
capitalism.
contents
Chapter 1 Capitalism, Socialism, and Freedom
Chapter 2 The Highest Sustainable Basic Income
Chapter 3 Undominated Diversity
Chapter 4 Jobs as Assets
Chapter 5 Exploitation versus Real Freedom
Chapter 6 Capitalism Justified?
Philippe
Van Parijs,
Professor of Economic and Social Ethics, Université Catholique de
Louvain, Belgium
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