Yet, even the basic terminology is somewhat fuzzy. What
constitutes a resource? what is meant by allocation? Who
should allocate resources - Adam Smith's "invisible
hand", the government, the consumer, or business? Should
it reflect differences in power, in intelligence, in
knowledge, or in heredity? Should resource allocation be
subject to a principle of entitlement? Is it reasonable to
demand that it be just - or merely efficient? Are justice
and efficiency antonyms?
Justice is concerned with equal access to opportunities.
Equal access does not guarantee equal outcomes,
invariably determined by idiosyncrasies and differences
between people. Access leveraged by the application of
natural or acquired capacities - translates into accrued
wealth. Disparities in these capacities lead to
discrepancies in accrued wealth.
The doctrine of equal access is founded on the
equivalence of Men. That all men are created equal and
deserve the same respect and, therefore, equal treatment is
not self evident. European aristocracy well into this
century would have probably found this notion abhorrent.
Jose Ortega Y Gasset, writing in the 1930's, preached that
access to educational and economic opportunities should
be premised on one's lineage, up bringing, wealth, and
social responsibilities.
A succession of societies and cultures discriminated
against the ignorant, criminals, atheists, females,
homosexuals, members of ethnic, religious, or racial
groups, the old, the immigrant, and the poor. Communism
- ostensibly a strict egalitarian idea - foundered because it
failed to reconcile strict equality with economic and
psychological realities within an impatient timetable.
Philosophers tried to specify a "bundle" or "package" of
goods, services, and intangibles (like information, or
skills, or knowledge). Justice - though not necessarily
happiness - is when everyone possesses an identical
bundle. Happiness - though not necessarily justice - is
when each one of us possesses a "bundle" which reflects
his or her preferences, priorities, and predilections. None
of us will be too happy with a standardized bundle,
selected by a committee of philosophers - or bureaucrats,
as was the case under communism.
The market allows for the exchange of goods and services
between holders of identical bundles. If I seek books, but
detest oranges - I can swap them with someone in return
for his books. That way both of us are rendered better off
than under the strict egalitarian version.
Still, there is no guarantee that I will find my exact match
- a person who is interested in swapping his books for my
oranges. Illiquid, small, or imperfect markets thus inhibit
the scope of these exchanges. Additionally, exchange
participants have to agree on an index: how many books
for how many oranges? This is the price of oranges in
terms of books.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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