Fairness in Practice - A Social Contract for a Global Economy

If the global economy seems unfair, how should we understand what a fair global economy would be? What ideas of fairness, if any, apply, and what significance do they have for policy and law? Working within the social contract tradition, this book argues that fairness is best seen as a kind of equity in practice.

List of contents

• Table of Contents


• Preface


• 1. Main Ideas


• SOCIAL FOUNDATIONS


• 2. Economic Skepticism


• 3. Hobbesian Skepticism


• 4. The Moral Problem of Assurance


• BASIC FAIRNESS


• 5. Structural Equity


• 6. The Benchmark of Equality


• 7. Principles of Equity


• FAIRNESS ISSUES


• 8. Financial Crises


• 9. The Level Playing Field: Intellectual Property


• 10. Degradation, Exploitation, and Other Moral Concerns

About the author

Aaron James is Associate Professor of Philosophy at the University of California, Irvine.

Summary

If the global economy seems unfair, how should we understand what a fair global economy would be? What ideas of fairness, if any, apply, and what significance do they have for policy and law?

Working within the social contract tradition, this book argues that fairness is best seen as a kind of equity in practice. The global economy as we know it is organized by an international social practice in which countries mutually rely upon common markets. This practice generates shared responsibilities of "structural equity," independently of humanitarian, human rights, or other justice concerns, for how benefits and burdens are distributed across different societies and their social classes.

Equity in the practice of trade requires not only compensation of people harmed by their exposure to global economic forces, but also equal division of the "gains of trade," across and within societies, unless still greater gains flow to developing countries. Fairness therefore calls for strong social insurance schemes, international capital controls, policy flexibility for developing countries, and more-all as the "fair price" of free trade.

Additional text

James' book marks a significant achievement and will no doubt set standards in the genre of applied global political philosophy. His normative framework for the global economic order is impressive in scope and ambition with few peers in the current literature.

Product details

• Authors: Aaron James, Aaron (Associate Professor James, James Aaron
• Publisher: Oxford University Press
• Languages: English
• Product format: Paperback / Softback
• Released: 19.09.2013
• EAN: 9780199344567
• ISBN: 978-0-19-934456-7
• No. of pages: 382
• Series: Oxford Political Philosophy; Oxford Political Philosophy
• Subjects: Humanities, art, music > Philosophy > General, dictionaries; Non-fiction book > Philosophy, religion > Philosophy: antiquity to present day; Social sciences, law, business > Business > Economics; PHILOSOPHY / Social, PHILOSOPHY / Political, BUSINESS & ECONOMICS / International / General, PHILOSOPHY / Ethics & Moral Philosophy, BUSINESS & ECONOMICS / Economics / Theory, Social & political philosophy, Economic theory & philosophy, Ethics & moral philosophy, social and political philosophy, International Economics, Ethics and moral philosophy, Economic theory and philosophy