You managed to contradict yourself in the space of one sentence. If all human activity is coercive, which is the logical conclusion of the Hale thesis, then coercive activity is neither “good” nor “bad” (which you appear to recognize), so the fact that “wealth inequality presupposes coercion” tells us nothing concerning whether wealth inequality (or slavery, as another example) is good or bad, to be encouraged or discouraged (which you disagree with by taking the position that wealth inequality is problematic because of coercion).
David Shemano From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Tom Walker Sent: Sunday, April 20, 2014 8:35 AM To: Progressive Economics Subject: Re: [Pen-l] Ants at the Piketty Picnic: What's Wrong with "Inequality"? To go back to the original point, reinforced by Ian's reference to Robert Hale, wealth inequality presupposes coercion. Coercion isn't necessarily "bad". Workers collectively striking for shorter hours is coercive. But, importantly, it is not coherent to talk of inequality as if it is something distinct from coercion and thus to set up a false dichotomy between a supposedly value-neutral inequality and value-laden coercion, as libertarians consistently do with the tacit approval of the so-called distinction between positive and normative economics. Whether to call rich people sociopaths or mother-fuckers doesn't advance the analysis. On Sun, Apr 20, 2014 at 4:57 AM, Billy O'Connor <[email protected]<mailto:[email protected]>> wrote: Carrol Cox <[email protected]<mailto:[email protected]>> writes: > Gar: Beyond my scope, but I've been told by people in the field that > "Sociopath" is no longer accepted as a technical term. > > Then there is _no_ excuse for using it for analysis. It merely means > something like Mother-Fucker -- and explains nothing. I've taken to using the term "Affluenza sufferers". _______________________________________________ pen-l mailing list [email protected]<mailto:[email protected]> https://lists.csuchico.edu/mailman/listinfo/pen-l<http://cp.mcafee.com/d/2DRPowd38Arhpd7bRXL8EICXCQrI8FThK-YrhKMyDt56X9J6X2atQrLCzASztx5eWaabVJ2xfRtxk5bvaoEHI37AundHvaoEHI37AundTpd7fILILZvCn4SnXZuVtdBAQsY-yMM-NORQX8EGTsjVkffGhBrwqrhdECXCXCOsVHkiP3VkDjHkrIjBqLuwTwCHIcfBisEeRNrU5PPqQjd3HEL3JQsUxsVrU5POV2Hsbvg57OFeDmEToDaRuZ1ISYVuVI5-Aq83iS5LwnfdbFEw48jEq8dCq89A_d40mAl-sONEw2QHgBp8Qg0ajSpEDEq805zm14Qg69j9Cy0Qh1If5CZfBcIq8yhIsyrwuI5cbYV> -- Cheers, Tom Walker (Sandwichman)
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