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Image may be NSFW.
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University of San Diego Philosopher and Bleeding Heart Libertarians founder Matt Zwolinski has a great two-part video series up at LearnLiberty on social justice. According to his colleague Jason Brennan, “In a market economy, no one literally distributes the wealth. But that doesn’t mean the concept of social justice is nonsense.”
First Matt explains social justice and its critics:
The term social justice typically refers to a moral assessment of the way wealth, jobs, opportunities, and other goods are distributed in society. Some may think wealth should be distributed equally; others may argue that it is more important for opportunities to be equally distributed. Unfortunately, there is no central distributor in a free society able to enforce this type of equality.
In fact [...] we are all distributors. When we make decisions, like which grocer to buy from, what to study in school, or where to live, we affect the distribution of resources. None of those decisions is inherently just or unjust. [...] For libertarians and classical liberals, the only meaningful concept of social justice is one focused on the legal and economic rules of societies. Many think this focus is incompatible with the political left’s concept of social justice.
Followed by what’s right about social justice:
The famous egalitarian John Rawls said that “a just society’s rules tend to work to the maximum advantage of the least well off classes.” Prof. Zwolinski argues that while we may disagree on the means to achieve this end, free-market proponents can agree with this statement. We can embrace a theory of social justice without believing the state has to do anything to directly promote the welfare of the least well off. Prof. Zwolinski believes that when it comes to social justice, supporters of a traditional concept of social justice and free-market proponents have much to learn from one another.
Check out both videos:
Images via Bleeding Heart Libertarians and LearnLiberty
Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
