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Article: Real Freedom for All: What (If Anything) Can Justify Capitalism?
- Article from:
- American Political Science Review
- Article date:
- December 1, 1996
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1996 Cambridge University Press. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Howard J. Sherman, University of California, Riverside
Van Parijs argues that capitalism has an unacceptable level of inequality and that freedom is a high priority. He recognizes and states in great detail the conservative argument that freedom necessitates inequality. People must be allowed to do as they wish in the economy without government interference and this is the only road to freedom; intervention for equality is the road to serfdom.
The most important contribution of the book is a rigorous new argument to refute the conservatives and prove that equality is not only compatible with freedom but also is necessary for a real freedom. For example, in our ...