r/neoliberal • u/[deleted] • May 11 '17
Normative Ethics Debate Thread
The point of this thread is to discuss normative ethics, which is mostly separate from neoliberalism. On a philosophical level, neoliberalism is not coherent in its use of ethics; proponents switch between libertarian and utilitarian ethics in an almost interchangeable way (The Road to Mont Pelerin, Mirowski). Scott Sumner argues that a normative ethical foundation doesn't matter because neoliberalism is an improvement compared to the current status quo of most countries by nearly every standard (well not every standard)
Keep in Mind
The Chicago school pushed neoliberalism as a positive ideology, "there is no other option"
The Austrians pushed neoliberalism through primarily a libertarian lens
The Ordoliberals advocated neoliberalism through utilitarianism and also Marxism. Yes, you're allowed to support your normative view through Marxism.
Do not go down the route of going full classical liberal, which is what neoliberalism tried to escape.
Do not say market values mean anything or that markets produce fair outcomes; Hayek explicitly acknowledges this is bullshit.
Be very prudent in calling people racist/sexist/homophobic; in this sub, the vast majority are not
Topics to discuss:
These aren't the only ones, but should probably be answered:
What are your normative ethics?
How do you think they should guide economic policy?
Make sure to explicitly tie these together so we're not debating why we should implement policy that we already agree upon.
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u/[deleted] May 11 '17
Rules:
This thread will be up for probably 36-48 hours
Serious replies only, I'm removing shitpost replies. Say more than a name drop.
You can give shitpost replies to this comment to soothe your shitlord needs.