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Week 2: Inequality: the root of all evil? (Kaynes // Hayek (For government…
Week 2: Inequality: the root of all evil?
Inequality: a moral issue?
question of morality- sense of injustice/unfairness to a particular group, suffering or having dignity impinged
Has it gone from being accepted as an inevitable result of progress to something far more sinicter?
Long political-economic debate
To critique inequality is to critique capitalism
Can an equal society also have elements of capitalism
What do we believe a just society should be, is it just about a just geographical distribution of wealth
Injustice, inequality and ethics
Does equal treatment mean identical treatment or fair treatment
Particular inequalities vs unspecified inequalities
Question of equality of opportunity and equality of outcome
Generating more wealth vs morally fair distribution
Adam Smith
Father of capitalism
Idea of the invisible hand of the market
Pursuit of wealth brought benefits for society as a whole
Karl Marx and David Harvey would argue inequality is a result of the capitalist class having control over the working class, a conflict between capital and labour- capitalism would need to be overturned.
The Kusnets Curve- Inequality would stabilise to an acceptable level, market forced would increase then decease inequality. Once an average income is reached, democreaticiation and the development of the welfare state take hold reducing inequality
Capital and the 21st century- income inequality is on the rise, top managers set their own wages and its easier to create more wealth once you have a substantial amount of it. Is inequality justified. Concentration of capital so high, incompatible with the meritocratic values and principles of social justice fundamental to modern democratic societies
Kaynes // Hayek
For government intervention in the market and deficit spending to increase demand and create a multiplier effect
Didn't believe people should be left to suffer during a recession
Middle way between capitalism and socialism
Demand side economist
Tax and Spend economics
Hayek- Micro-economic focus. Shouldn't leap to create artificial consumer demand, as it could spark inflation. More faith in market capitalism. Market has its own natural remedy. Small government
Ideas caught the attention of Margaret Thatcher and Ronald Regan
Capitalism and freedom- Milton Friedman. Increased freedom brings more wealth to society as a whole, more a good thing. Worst better off in a more unequal system. Believed in quantitative easing during a recession. Inflation greater evil than unemployment. Shrink size of government. Trickle down argument.
Differences more about spending priorities. Reagan increased public spending and debt
Scruton is a modern day Hayekian. Moral customs should regulate the economy not the government . A free economy is one run by free beings , whoa re naturally responsible . Blames the economic crisis on moral failure as much caused by the government as selfish bankers
Philanthropy is the way forward, against state intervention to redistribute wealth , sceptical inequality is producing social problems
Deaton - Nobel Prize Winner- middle ground , serious problem that can be tackled , consequence of economic growth but then affects economic growth
Wellbeing counts as much as income - Pareto Criterion. However development is freedom- more free today than in 1960. No logic that economic growth leads to reductions in global poverty
Libertarianism
We should have complete freedom to do what we want to do, should the wealthiest be taxed heavily to bring welfare to the whole of society? However reduces incentives to work and invest and violates economic liberty
Favour unfettered market and oppose government regulation in the name of human freedom
Self-ownership a key priciple
Inequality and the 1%
The wealthiest 1% are taking such a large share of wealth is tearing apart the fabric of society
The poor have no right to live near the centre of our biggest cities and cutting benefits to the poorest part of their mission
We are very much more unequal than other rich countries
Atlas Shrugged- Ayn Rand
Emphatically anti-government
Argued for all goods to be in private hands
Saw selfishness as a morally good thing
Capitalism- pure social Darwinism: no protections for the vulnerable at all
Believes its immoral to tax the rich because of the benefits they bring to society
John Rawls
A veil of ignorance, if we didn't know where we would be borm we would choose a world more equal and generous with good welfare provisions
Certain economic inequalities permitted- paying more for doctors than bus drivers. Paying doctors more might improve the heath and welfare of the poorest
Also for equality opportunity
What a society deems to be morally deserving is contingent on both history and geography
We shouldn't embrace the uncertain lottery of life
Believes it's our moral imperative to accept injustice and try to reduce it
Social and spatial justice
Smith- Moral Geographies, notion of luck, being born in the right place at the right time
The Spirit Level
Analyses data on health and well being in the world's richest countries, inequality is linked to poor health and well being outcome
Level of trust, mental illness, life expectancy and infant mortality, obesity, Children's educational performance, teenage births, homicides, imprisonment rates, social mobility
As countries get richer and richer, the relationship between economic growth and life expectancy weakens
UK on the unequal end of the scale, increasing inequalities the worse the health and social problems are
Greater equality would make growth less necessary
Wouldn't need economic growth if people had more of their needs
Degrowth
Need flourishing sectors not necessarilly a growing or developing one
Focus on qualitative rather than quantitative improvement
Eco-centric idea that embraces the idea of limits as a moral decision
Focuses on lower productivity, preventative treatment . excusing countries debt
The gains of globalisation are clearly not reaching ordinary people in Western Societies