Redressing Historical Injustice: Self-Ownership, Property Rights and Economic Equality (Palgrave Studies in Classical Liberalism)

This book offers an alternative to perspectives of distributive justice which fail to resolve economic inequality and exacerbate social problems by ignoring the real causes of inequality. The main impact of the book is to highlight the importance of self-ownership and private property, showing how market participation advances liberty and prosperity. The idea that we should pay reparations to disadvantaged racial groups as compensation for historical injustice is deeply contested. The debates often focus on the practical implications of paying reparations, but overlook more fundamental questions about the meaning of justice. What is justice? What are the implications of wealth redistribution for individual liberty and the rule of law? This book answers these questions through an analysis of classical liberal perspectives in law, philosophy and economics. The book questions whether economic inequality stems from historical injustice, and explores the wider implications of attempting to create equal outcomes through legislative mandates. The book argues that free markets, resting on libertarian rights, are the best way to help disadvantaged members of society and to create the conditions more likely to advance economic equality. The book will be of interest to researchers and students of economics, law, politics and philosophy. Preface 7 Acknowledgements 9 Contents 11 1 Introduction 13 1.1 Classical Liberalism and Natural-Rights Libertarianism 19 1.2 The Question of Racial Justice 25 1.3 Key Concerns in Redressing Historical Injustice 28 1.4 Outline of the Book 32 References 33 2 Self-Ownership and Property Rights 35 2.1 The Concept of Self-Ownership 37 2.2 Utilitarian Perspectives 40 2.3 Natural Law Perspectives 45 2.4 Inequality and the Validity of Property Rights 52 2.5 Is Property Merely a Cultural Construct? 58 2.6 The Institutional Foundations of Private Property 61 2.7 Natural Rights and Individual Liberty 70 References 75 3 Legacies of Injustice and Racial Inequality 80 3.1 The Classical Ideal of Justice: Formal Equality and Individualism 88 3.2 Stolen Property and Counterfactual Analysis 95 3.3 Legacies of Injustice 103 3.4 Why the Causes of Inequality Matter 108 3.5 Moral Emotion and the Causes of Inequality 111 3.6 A Consistent Approach to Comparative Analysis 116 3.7 The Lessons of History 121 References 125 4 Property Rights and the Rule of Law 128 4.1 Natural Law as a Normative Ideal 134 4.2 Self-Ownership, Democracy and the Rule of Law 138 4.3 Unjust Acquisition of Title 144 4.4 Redefining Property Rights 148 4.5 Legislative Reform 153 References 158 5 Capitalism, Markets and Economic Equality 161 5.1 The Morality of Capitalism 166 5.2 The Racial Wealth Gap 174 5.3 The Causes of Economic Growth 183 5.4 Free Markets, Productivity and Redistribution 189 References 193 6 Conclusion 195 6.1 State Interventions and Mixed Economies 199 6.2 The New Equity 201 6.3 Implications for Economic Development 206 6.4 Stateless Justice and Anarchy 209 References 215 Bibliography 218 Index 224 "This book offers an alternative to perspectives of distributive justice which fail to resolve economic inequality and exacerbate social problems by ignoring the real causes of inequality. The main impact of the book is to highlight the importance of self-ownership and private property, showing how market participation advances liberty and prosperity. The idea that we should pay reparations to disadvantaged racial groups as compensation for historical injustice is deeply contested. The debates often focus on the practical implications of paying reparations, but overlook more fundamental questions about the meaning of justice. What is justice? What are the implications of wealth redistribution for individual liberty and the rule of law? This book answers these questions through an analysis of classical liberal perspectives in law, philosophy and economics. The book questions whether economic inequality stems from historical injustice, and explores the wider implications of attempting to create equal outcomes through legislative mandates. The book argues that free markets, resting on libertarian rights, are the best way to help disadvantaged members of society and to create the conditions more likely to advance economic equality"--Publisher's description