A Republican Theory of Economic Inequality

• In Event: Social Inequality and the Threats to Democracy

Abstract

I would like to propose an understanding of economic inequality that is distinct from the more economistic thinking that so deeply marks our policy and ethical debates. According to this “thin” understanding, economic equality is an issue mainly of distributive justice alone; it concerns the extent to which the gap between incomes and wealth can be narrowed to the extent that individuals are allowed to have equal access to other personal and social goods – such as political participation, levels of consumption, educational and employment opportunities, and so on. What I propose is a different understanding of economic equality and inequality, one rooted in a republican understanding of politics that relies on a “thicker” understanding of the descriptive account of economic divisions. A republican conception of politics, briefly stated, holds that the purpose or end of social institutions should be to enhance and pursue the common interest of the society as a whole. According to this view, inequality in the economy can be seen as the extent to which certain members of the community are able to control the common resources of the society as well as redefine the purposes and ends of that society as a whole. As a result, economic inequality leads ineluctably to a degradation of the common interest and the re-orientation of public, common goods toward elite, particular interests.

Author

• Michael J. Thompson, William Paterson University