Economics Dictionary of Arguments

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Society: "Society" refers to a group of individuals living together in a community, sharing common norms, values, and institutions, and often governed by established rules or laws. It encompasses social interactions, relationships, and collective organization within a given geographical or cultural context. See also Community, Culture, State, Norms, Values, Institutions.
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Annotation: The above characterizations of concepts are neither definitions nor exhausting presentations of problems related to them. Instead, they are intended to give a short introduction to the contributions below. – Lexicon of Arguments.

 
Author Concept Summary/Quotes Sources

David Harris on Society - Dictionary of Arguments

Gaus I 216
Society/David Harris/Moon: Because concepts of positive rights and equal opportunity are not well defined outside of specific social contexts, they are often combined with arguments appealing to ideals of citizenship and social solidarity. The basic argument is that the welfare
state should guarantee the inclusion of all citizens as full members of a democratic society, which
requires that an extensive range of social rights be provided.
David Harris: Harris offers a communitarian version of the argument from solidarity. He argues that 'full membership' in a society requires that each person be able to enjoy 'a certain style of life' and 'certain life chances' (1987(1): 147). Although he recognizes that modern societies include a plurality of different groups, he insists that there are more or less common standards of what an individual must be able to do and how one must be able to live if one is not to be excluded or socially marginalized. These standards determine the needs of members of that society, and should be equally available to all citizens as a matter of right, for only in that way can the equal status of members be recognized and respected (1987(1): 154-7).
Moon: This line of argument supports the institutional welfare state in which services are provided in kind in part because 'citizens have a right to that specific resource', such as 'edu-cation', rather than a right 'to income which may or may not be spent on education' (1987(1): 150).
Further, the universal provision of certain services is expressive of, and may contribute to, a sense of community and equal citizenship.
Finally, providing services in kind may be a form of 'justified paternalism' to the extent that 'some persons may be imprudent or wasteful or be unable to make adequate use of cash' (1987(1): 150-1).
Family: Harris's account relies upon an analogy between political society and the family: just as we have obligations towards, and rights against, members of our family, irrespective of what they may have done for us individually, so we have obligations towards, and rights against, our fellow citizens.
Moon: The stress on obligations is crucial, for the possibility of enjoying one's rights depends upon the willing support of social policies on the part of the citizenry, and to claim one's rights one must be prepared to fulfil the 'system of duties' that 'underlies the structure of citizen rights' (1987(1): 160).
Fundamental needs: (...) Harris goes on to argue that the pragmatic difficulties involved in determining whether someone's unfulfilled needs are a result of his own choices are so great that we should presume that there are no such cases, and should rely upon a 'sense of duty or community to prevent or minimize abuse of the system' (1987(1): 161).
Gaus I 217
MoonVsHarris:
1) (...) the founding of rights and obligations on 'membership' is deeply problematic, in as much as it begs the question of whether the social order of which we are to be
members is just.
2) (...) ironically, welfare states have a systematic tendency to undermine the very communitar-
ian sentiments and relationships that would support the values of solidarity and equality. Although
participating in a common programme, such as a national health service or medicare, may give rise to feelings of solidarity with others, what people actually experience may often be quite different. In many cases it is more like being reduced to the status of a client, attempting to meet one's needs through an impersonal and unresponsive bureaucracy.*
3) (...) the commitment to equality can sometimes sit uneasily with the commitment to democracy. Consider, for example, Albert Weale's argument for earnings-related welfare state schemes,
such as social security in the US. Weale argues that such schemes increase the total volume of government transfers, thus leading to greater 'egalitarian effectiveness'.
>Equality/Weale
, >Solidarity/Welfare economics.

*This is an important theme in Wolfe's analysis and critique of state provision (see 1989(2): esp. chs 4 and 5).

1. Harris, David (1987) Justifying State Welfare. Oxford: Blackwell.
2. Wolfe, Alan (1989) Whose Keeper? Social Science and Moral Obligation. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press.

Moon, J. Donald 2004. „The Political Theory of the Welfare State“. In: Gaus, Gerald F. & Kukathas, Chandran 2004. Handbook of Political Theory. SAGE Publications

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Explanation of symbols: Roman numerals indicate the source, arabic numerals indicate the page number. The corresponding books are indicated on the right hand side. ((s)…): Comment by the sender of the contribution. Translations: Dictionary of Arguments
The note [Concept/Author], [Author1]Vs[Author2] or [Author]Vs[term] resp. "problem:"/"solution:", "old:"/"new:" and "thesis:" is an addition from the Dictionary of Arguments. If a German edition is specified, the page numbers refer to this edition.

LingHarris I
Zellig S. Harris
A Theory of Language and Information: A Mathematical Approach Oxford 1991

Gaus I
Gerald F. Gaus
Chandran Kukathas
Handbook of Political Theory London 2004


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