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- Title
THE LIMITS OF LIBERALISM: A REPUBLICAN THEORY OF SOCIAL JUSTICE.
- Authors
Thompson, Michael J.
- Abstract
This paper proposes a theory of social justice built from the insights of republican political theory. After critiquing the liberal structure of theories of social justice, I present a different argument drawn from the distinct commitments of republicanism. I argue that whereas liberal theory is limited by its emphasis on the ethical neutrality of the state, equality of opportunity, and redistribution as criteria for social justice, republican theory provides us with a deeper, more satisfying set of political values and goals to help us construct a more substantive theory of social justice. I argue that this theory of social justice seeks to maximize "democratic wealth" as opposed to "oligarchic wealth" and I elaborate a theory to construct a more just form of social and economic order which departs from traditional liberal principles. I then go on to argue for a series of principles that should guide what I refer to as an "economy with public ends" which would be able to realize the concept of social justice through the maximization of democratic wealth at the expense of oligarchic wealth. In the end, I argue that these principles should be seen as guiding the logic of political and economic institutions as well as the demands of social movements.
- Publication
International Journal of Ethics, 2011, Vol 7, Issue 3/4, p151
- ISSN
1556-4444
- Publication type
Academic Journal