Topics Justice

Question This question is in regards to social philosophy: Suppose someone is inclined to think that capitalism (at least, the capitalism that is being practiced at present) is neither fair nor egalitarian. In addition, they do not wish to (necessarily) take part in its practice (to make money). My question is this: how could this person expect to make any kind of "decent" money while not being a capitalist when capitalism is (as they say) "the only game in town"?

Accepted:
May 6, 2010

Comments

You appear to be asking the question: "how can someone make decent money, without taking part in the only established system for making money"... the obvious answer is that they can't. If someone judges the economic system to be unjust, their options are rather limited. They can try to move to a place with a more just system of economics (good luck, there are probably a few places that are more 'fair' but most places are worse IMO). They can try to withdraw from the system in some way, perhaps by living off the land in a commune of some kind or by taking a vow of poverty and joining a religious order. Probably, the most practical of the options is to begrudgingly take part in the system while working to reform it from inside (again good luck, reforms happen slowly and unintended consequences are common). But in any case, if you find contemporary capitalism to be fundamentally unjust I'd suggest that 'making decent money' should no longer be an overriding goal for you. After all, isn't the current system unjust largely because so many people have prioritized 'making money' over more moral goals?

For a sophisticated discussion of this question--and for a more detailed discussion of several of the issues that Eric raises--see G.A. Cohen's If You're an Egalitarian, How Come You're So Rich? (Harvard University Press, 2000).