Justice with Michael Sandel – Lecture 5

Libertarianism – people are entitled to intrinsic respect; the fundamental right is the right to liberty.

Free to Choose

With humorous references to Bill Gates and Michael Jordan, Sandel introduces the libertarian notion that redistributive taxation—taxing the rich to give to the poor—is akin to forced labor.

Lecture: http://justiceharvard.org/lecture-5-free-to-choose/

Libertarian principles:

No paternalist legislation – laws that protect people from themselves

No morals legislation – laws that promote virtuous living

No progressive taxation – redistributing income or wealth from the rich to the poor

Am I a libertarian? What do I think of these principles?

Paternalistic and moral laws – a certain minimum amount is required to sustain the stability of society. As little as possible.

Progressive taxation – required, for the same reason. Large inequalities make the society unstable. Aristotle: the poorer 90% only accept that they are poor because thay are convinced that they have a reasonable chance to be rich. Rousseau: the society does you a favour: sustains favourable environment. If you live in a society, the social contract applies.

The moral goal is to provide a prosperous society, where everyone has equal chance and everyone has a large amount of guaranteed freedom.

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