Justificatory liberalism and libertarianism: A critique of Gerald Gaus’ The order of public reason

Authors

  • Leandro Martins Zanitelli Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais (UFMG), Faculdade de Direito

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.4013/rechtd.2015.73.08

Abstract

The paper criticizes two conclusions about justificatory liberalism reached by Gerald Gaus in ‘The order of public reason’, viz. that socialism is incapable of being publicly justified and that the diversity of evaluative standards of the Members of the Public limits considerably the possibilities of redistributive policies. Against Gaus, I claim that justificatory liberalism remains agnostic about the property of production means (whether it should be public or private) and is compatible with more egalitarian versions of capitalism such as those that draw on Rawls’ and Dworkin’s theories of justice.

Keywords: Gaus, socialism, redistribution.

Author Biography

Leandro Martins Zanitelli, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais (UFMG), Faculdade de Direito

Doutor em Direito pela Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS); Professor Adjunto da Faculdade de Direito da Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais (UFMG)

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Published

2015-09-21

Issue

Vol. 7 No. 3 (2015): Setembro/Dezembro

Section

Articles

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