Unequivocal Justice

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My interest in political philosophy is strictly at the dilettante level. When getting books in that area, I occasionally try academic works. (I still have borrowing privileges at the University Near Here's library, and that extends to interlibrary loan, so price and popularity are usually non-issues.) As a result, I often (unfortunately too often) find myself in "look at every page" mode; academic works can get pretty lofty and obscure, they can be just one salvo in an ongoing debate, and seemingly nobody gives authors points for clear, accessible prose stylings.

Unequivocal Justice was unusual in that regard. Christopher Freiman is very clear and accessible here. It's relatively short. It's occasionally funny. (And, very unusual for books in this genre, it has no subtitle.)

It's probably not for total newbies. Previous exposure to John Rawls in particular would be recommended. (Can you pass a short, superficial quiz on A Theory of Justice? Fine, jump in.)

Freiman's goal here is to criticize and counter egalitarian theories of justice (like Rawls'), especially as such theories rule out laissez-faire free market capitalism as an acceptable operating system for national economies. His argument is an extension of the famous observation in Federalist No. 51:

If men were angels, no government would be necessary. If angels were to govern men, neither external nor internal controls on government would be necessary.

As you may have noticed, there's a serious shortage of angels, both in 1788 and 2022.

Freiman's general objection fleshes that out: egalitarians demand that states need to coercively ensure a decent standard of living for the less well-off; otherwise cold-hearted capitalists will accumulate all the available wealth, leaving the unfortunate to starve or freeze or…. The problem: those capitalists are viewed as clones of Charles Montgomery Plantagenet Schicklgruber "Monty" Burns.

However (good news) the government employees enforcing egalitarian measures are clones of Nedward "Ned" Flanders Jr.

Freiman says: wait a minute. In the real world, governments and businesses are run by real people, not by archetypes and caricatures. It's inconsistent to assume "ideal" behavior from government coercers, who are looking to correct flaws emanating from the non-ideal behavior of the well-off citizenry.

Freiman takes this general incoherence and breaks it down, rebutting egalitarian claims about "political liberty, economic sufficiency, fair opportunity, and social equality." He's very fair to his opponents, considering their objections, but that only makes his arguments more devastating.


Last Modified 2024-01-17 3:37 PM EDT