George Will has an article on inequality that discusses the work of Harry G. Frankfurt and his new book On Inequality. Frankfurt is a Princeton professor of philosophy emeritus.
This is a topic filled with political and religious nuance. Equality that is not spiritual but material creates very difficult problems as such an equality can be created only by force. More, what of the other inequalities where even force fails, like beauty and health?
Some segments:
"It is misguided to endorse economic egalitarianism as an authentic moral ideal."
Frankfurt argues that economic inequality is not inherently morally objectionable.
"To the extent that it is truly undesirable, it is on account of its almost irresistible tendency to generate unacceptable inequalities of other kinds."
They can include access to elite education, political influence and other nontrivial matters. But Frankfurt's alternative to economic egalitarianism is the "doctrine of sufficiency," which is that the moral imperative should be that everyone have enough.
The pursuit of increased economic equality might, but need not, serve the ethic of sufficiency. And this pursuit might distract people from understanding, and finding satisfaction with, "what is needed for the kind of life a person would most sensibly and appropriately seek."
This has nothing to do with "the quantity of money that other people happen to have." Frankfurt argues, "Doing worse than others does not entail doing badly." And an obsession with others' resources "contributes to the moral disorientation and shallowness of our time."
Some segments:
"It is misguided to endorse economic egalitarianism as an authentic moral ideal."
Frankfurt argues that economic inequality is not inherently morally objectionable.
"To the extent that it is truly undesirable, it is on account of its almost irresistible tendency to generate unacceptable inequalities of other kinds."
They can include access to elite education, political influence and other nontrivial matters. But Frankfurt's alternative to economic egalitarianism is the "doctrine of sufficiency," which is that the moral imperative should be that everyone have enough.
The pursuit of increased economic equality might, but need not, serve the ethic of sufficiency. And this pursuit might distract people from understanding, and finding satisfaction with, "what is needed for the kind of life a person would most sensibly and appropriately seek."
This has nothing to do with "the quantity of money that other people happen to have." Frankfurt argues, "Doing worse than others does not entail doing badly." And an obsession with others' resources "contributes to the moral disorientation and shallowness of our time."
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