Overview
- Reconciles the classical liberal tradition with social justice
- Provides a radical restatement of classical liberalism after Friedrich Hayek
- Shows how a commitment to the rule of law leads to egalitarianism
Part of the book series: Palgrave Studies in Classical Liberalism (PASTCL)
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Table of contents (10 chapters)
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Front Matter
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Introduction
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Front Matter
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On Taxes
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Front Matter
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On Exchanges
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Front Matter
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Conclusion
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Front Matter
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Back Matter
Keywords
About this book
Classical liberalism has wrongly been regarded as an ideology that rejects the welfare state. In this book, Åsbjørn Melkevik corrects this common reading of the classical liberal tradition by introducing a theory of “rule egalitarianism”. Not only is classical liberalism compatible with social justice, but it can also help us understand why some egalitarian endeavours are an essential feature of a market society. If a necessary link exists between the classical liberal tradition and the moral and institutional dimensions of the rule of law, then this tradition is bound to uphold a substantial form of social justice. Coherence requires that classical liberals like Friedrich Hayek and Milton Friedman adopt an authentic egalitarian program. They should ameliorate poverty and limit inequality not merely out of prudence or collective self-interest, but for the natural justice of ongoing social cooperation as well as for the impartiality of market institutions.
Authors and Affiliations
About the author
Åsbjørn Melkevik is a Banting Postdoctoral Fellow at the Center of Research in Ethics at the University of Montreal. He has been a Postdoctoral Fellow at the Edmond J. Safra Center for Ethics at Harvard University and an exchange fellow at Tel Aviv University. He received his Ph.D. in political studies from Queen’s University and specializes in political theory and business ethics.
Bibliographic Information
Book Title: If You’re a Classical Liberal, How Come You’re Also an Egalitarian?
Book Subtitle: A Theory of Rule Egalitarianism
Authors: Åsbjørn Melkevik
Series Title: Palgrave Studies in Classical Liberalism
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-37908-7
Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan Cham
eBook Packages: Economics and Finance, Economics and Finance (R0)
Copyright Information: The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2020
Hardcover ISBN: 978-3-030-37907-0Published: 29 March 2020
Softcover ISBN: 978-3-030-37910-0Published: 29 March 2021
eBook ISBN: 978-3-030-37908-7Published: 28 March 2020
Series ISSN: 2662-6470
Series E-ISSN: 2662-6489
Edition Number: 1
Number of Pages: XIX, 306
Number of Illustrations: 1 b/w illustrations
Topics: Social Choice/Welfare Economics/Public Choice/Political Economy, Economic Policy, Political Theory, Political Philosophy