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.

Acknowledgements

vii

Preface: The Real Utopias Project

Erik Olin Wright

Introduction

Erik Olin Wright

Part I A Proposal for Egalitarian Markets

Efficient Redistribution: New Rules for Markets, States and Communities

(72)

Samuel Bowles

Herbert Gintis

Part II General Assessments of the Proposal

Problems with Supply-side Egalitarianism

(11)

Daniel M. Hausman

Equality, Community, and `Efficient Redistribution'

(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

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