Student Loans & Bankruptcies (was Re: creative financing)

[Gordon Fitch]

Jim Farmelant:
> The Canadian/British philosopher Ted Honderich is noted for his
> criticisms
> of what might be called the Principle of Desert in such works as
> *Punishment: The Supposed Justifications*, *Consequences of Determinism*,
> *How Free Are You*, and *Conservatism*.  In all these works, Honderich
> has attempted to show both that the acceptance of a determinist or
> near-determinist view of human behavior is incompatible with
> what may be characterized as a Principle of Desert and that such a
> principle is in any case vacous as a guide for policy.  In *Conservatism*
> for instance Honderich points out how the notion of desert has long
> been used to provide the basis for rationales defending inegalitarian
> social orders, while the acceptance of what Honderich calls a
> Principle of Equality will necessarily require some undermining
> of received notions concerning desert.

The pure capitalism of liberal fundamentalists, and to some
extent real capitalism, are not interested in just deserts;
no one cares how you get your money, as long as you play by
the rules (e.g. you may rob with a fountain pen, but not a
six-gun).  This is the gift which the nascent bourgeoisie
stole from the religious anarchists of their day to grant
to one another, and it led to the flows of wealth which have
supported a remarkable, some might even say pathological,
creativity and productivity.  But feudal relations, including
"justice", were preserved for the lower orders, who thereby
became another form of bourgeois wealth, and the bourgeoisie
had to attach themselves to it.  A movement towards freedom
for everyone must be a movement out of this prison.


> ...


> But I think that was exactly Carrol's point.  The handing out of rewards
> or punishments is defensable to the extent that they serve as either
> incentives or deterrents to specific behaviors.  One need not refer to
> a notion of desert (taken as a primitive) to justify this.  Furthermore,
> the abandonment of such a notion helps pave the way to acceptance
> of a more egalitarian social order.

One should remain aware, however, that where incentives or
deterrents are in use, somebody is attempting to control, use,
and probably subjugate someone else.  _Desert_ and _justice_
are scripts which conceal this exercise of power by attributing
it to the gods; abandoning them does not necessarily mean
that the behavior itself is being abandoned.