Economic justice in American society / Robert E. Kuenne.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Kuenne, Robert E., author.

Series:

Princeton legacy library

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Income distribution--United States.

Income distribution.

Social justice.

United States--Economic conditions.

United States.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (460 pages) : illustrations.

Edition:

Course Book

Place of Publication:

Princeton, New Jersey : Princeton University Press, [1993]

Language Note:

English

Summary:

America is entering a new age of economic discord, warns Robert E. Kuenne. In addition to a panoply of other structural economic troubles, the nation must now confront unprecedented demands for the kind of "distributive justice" that will meet the needs of the elderly, handicapped, and impoverished. Furthermore, American society faces the pressing problems of the disadvantaged with no explicit code of economic justice. Claims to various kinds of government entitlements are based increasingly on appeals to "economic justice," but no real national agreement exists on what that expression means. In this ambitious work, Kuenne sets out to remedy this want of consensus.After an extensive evaluation of earlier thinking about distributive justice, Kuenne proposes a new theory, "dualistic individualism," that is consistent with the American ethos of political and economic liberalism. He then frames a formal Bill of Economic Rights and Obligations, which defines proper governmental conduct in the economic terrain as the American Constitution does in the political. Defending a form of governmental policy that strikes a balance between the egoistic and compassionate elements of American individualism, Kuenne also considers the practical tasks of program implementation, and goes on to assess the feasibility of meeting concrete redistributive goals over the next thirty years. His thorough investigation of one of the country's most urgent predicaments could do much to stimulate debate over the ad hoc and unprincipled distributive policies that now prevail in the United States.Originally published in 1993.The Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of Princeton University Press. These editions preserve the original texts of these important books while presenting them in durable paperback and hardcover editions. The goal of the Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton University Press since its founding in 1905.

Contents:

Frontmatter

Contents

Figures

Tables

Preface

Part I. American Conceptions of Economic Justice

CHAPTER 1. The Implicit Economic Ethic in the Market Economy

PART II. Theoretical Bases for Economic Justice

CHAPTER 2. Theories of Social Equity: Egoistically Oriented Theories

CHAPTER 3. Theories of Social Equity: Socially Oriented Theories

CHAPTER 4. A Framework for Judgment

CHAPTER 5. A Critique of the Egoistically Oriented Theories

CHAPTER 6. A Critique of the Socially Oriented Theories

CHAPTER 7. The Bases for EconomicJustice in America: Philosophy, Rights and Obligations, and Policy

PART III. The Patterns of Income Distribution in the United States

CHAPTER 8. Measuring Inequality: A Menu of Problems and Choices

CHAPTER 9. The Distribution of Income in the United States in the Postwar Period

CHAPTER 10. The Feasibility of Redistributive Programs under the Dualistic Individualism Theory of Economic Equity

CHAPTER 11. The Longer-Term Implications of Dualistic Individualism

PART IV. Reprise and Prospect

CHAPTER 12. Compassionate Capitalism

NOTES

INDEX

Notes:

Bibliographic Level Mode of Issuance: Monograph

Description based on online resource; title from PDF title page (publisher's Web site, viewed 08. Jul 2019)

Description based on print version record.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9780691601540

0691601542

9780691631202

0691631204

9781400863594

1400863597

OCLC:

889251232