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Liberty, Desert and the Market

A Philosophical Study

Serena Olsaretti author

Format:Paperback

Publisher:Cambridge University Press

Published:29th Jan '09

Currently unavailable, and unfortunately no date known when it will be back

Liberty, Desert and the Market cover

This book provides an in-depth analysis of some central notions in political philosophy.

Defenders of the free market argue that inequalities of income are just because they are deserved, and that they are what free individuals are entitled to. This book challenges those arguments, and will be of interest to a wide range of readers in political philosophy, political theory and economics.Are inequalities of income created by the free market just? In this book Serena Olsaretti examines two main arguments that justify those inequalities: the first claims that they are just because they are deserved, and the second claims that they are just because they are what free individuals are entitled to. Both these arguments purport to show, in different ways, that giving responsible individuals their due requires that free market inequalities in incomes be allowed. Olsaretti argues, however, that neither argument is successful, and shows that when we examine closely the principle of desert and the notions of liberty and choice invoked by defenders of the free market, it appears that a conception of justice that would accommodate these notions, far from supporting free market inequalities, calls for their elimination. Her book will be of interest to a wide range of readers in political philosophy, political theory and normative economics.

ISBN: 9780521107815

Dimensions: 229mm x 152mm x 11mm

Weight: 300g

196 pages