Recasting Egalitarianism New Rules for Communities, States and Markets

by Bowles, Samuel; Brighouse, Harry; Gintis, Herbert; Wright, Erik Olin

• ISBN13: 9781859842553
• ISBN10: 1859842550
• Edition: 00
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 1999-01-17
• Publisher: VERSO

Summary

Two prominent economists lead a debate to redistribute wealth. In Recasting Egalitarianism, part of Verso's Real Utopias series, economists Samuel Bowles and Herbert Gintis diagnose the current malaise of the Left as a result of the obsolescence of its traditional economic models. They propose to rejuvenate the egalitarian project through a strategy of asset-based redistribution, drawing in novel ways on markets, competition, state regulation and community governance. In this major work on economic and social policy, the authors address the twin challenges posed by a globally integrated economy and the key economic roles now played by information, motivation, and other intangibles. They propose an egalitarian redistribution of assets - land, capital, and housing - and argue for the beneficial disciplining effects of competition both in markets and among publicly-funded service providers, pointing out that the injustices commonly associated with markets can be avoided if assets are more equally distributed. The lead essay in the book lays out the underlying logic of this proposal in some detail. This is followed by responses by critics and supporters. Contributors include: Harry Brighouse, Michael Carter, Steve Durlauf, Paula England, David Gordon, Daniel M. Hausman, Karla Hoff, Andrew Levine, Elaine McCrate, Karl Ove Moen, Ugo Pagano, John E. Roomer, Peter Skott, Michael Wallerstein, Erik Olin Wright.

Author Biography

Samuel Bowles is an American economist and Professor Emeritus at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst.

Herbert Gintis is an American behavioral scientist, educator, and author. He is currently Professor at the Central European University and External Professor at the Santa Fe Institute.

Erik Olin Wright is Vilas Distinguished Professor of Sociology at the University of Wisconsin. He is the author of many books, including Classes, Interrogating Inequality, Class Counts, Deepening Democracy (with Archon Fung), and Envisioning Real Utopias. For more information on Envisioning Real Utopias and the Real Utopias project, and to access book content, please visit <a href="http://realutopias.org/">realutopias.org</a> (site in progress).

John E. Roemer is the Elizabeth S. and A. Varick Professor of Political Science and Economics. He is a Fellow of the Econometric Society, and has been a Fellow of the Guggenheim Foundation and the Russell Sage Foundation.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements	vii
Preface: The Real Utopias Project	ix
Erik Olin Wright
Introduction	xi
Erik Olin Wright
Part I A Proposal for Egalitarian Markets
Efficient Redistribution: New Rules for Markets, States and Communities	3	(72)
Samuel Bowles
Herbert Gintis
Part II General Assessments of the Proposal
Problems with Supply-side Egalitarianism	75	(11)
Daniel M. Hausman
Equality, Community, and `Efficient Redistribution'	86	(17)
Erik Olin Wright
Which Norms? How Much Gain? Two Reasons to Limit Markets	103	(10)
Elaine McCrate
Norms and Efficiency	113	(8)
Elaine Ostrom
Efficiency Politics	121	(20)
Andrew Levine
Part III Specific Institutional Contexts
School Choice: Theoretical Considerations	141	(40)
Harry Brighouse
Conflict and Cooperation: An Empirical Glimpse of the Imperatives of Efficiency and Redistribution	181	(27)
David M. Gordon
How Do We Support Children?	208	(13)
Paula England
Part IV Criticisms of the Economic Model
The Limits of Private-property-based Egalitarianism	221	(8)
John E. Roemer
Redistribution of Assets Versus Redistribution of Income	229	(15)
Karl Ove Moene
Michael Wallerstein
The Crisis of Egalitarian Policy and the Promises of Asset-based Redistribution	244	(17)
Peter Skott
Part V Extensions of the Economic Model
Associational Redistribution: A Defense	261	(24)
Steven N. Durlauf
Redistributions of Assets and Distributions of Asymmetric Information	285	(34)
Ugo Pagano
On the Economics of Realizing and Sustaining the Efficient Redistribution of Productive Assets	319	(13)
Michael R. Carter
Market Failures and the Distribution of Wealth: A Perspective from the Economics of Information
Karla Hoff
Part VI Reconsiderations	332
Recasting Egalitarianism	361
Samuel Bowles
Herbert Gintis