Why Decry the Wealth Gap?

JKSCHW at aol.com JKSCHW at aol.com
Tue Jan 25 07:26:05 PST 2000


Someone wrote:
>
> In fact, to follow your manner of speaking, I would
> proclaim that anyone not interested in equality can
> hardly be considered a leftist of any sort.
>

What about Karl Marx, who showed a great deal of interest in freedom and virtually none in equality? See, among other things, his famous atatck on "equal right" in the Critique of the Gotha Programme.

I wrote a couple of papers on this: What's Wrong with Exploitation, Nous 1995 (arguing that for Marx, it is unfreedom, not injustice), and In Defence of Exploitation, Econ & Phil 1995 (Arguing against Roemer, who says that it inequality and not exploitation in Marx's sense that is interesting). Versions, I think not final versions, of oth papers were posted on the net at the time of the old Marxism lists in 1995-96.

--jks



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