Against Amartya... And "Social Justice"

Today, the arch-socialist, Nobel laureate Amartya Sen, will be addressing Parliament on the topic: “Demands of Social Justice.”

While he thrills the ears of our MPs, let us sit back in our own “para-parliament” and dissect this weighty term that all socialists spout. We all know what Justice means – an “equal justice for all.” What then is “social justice”?

As I wrote in an article published in the ToI a year and a half ago:

“In liberal political thought, 'social justice' is bunk. Nobel laureate Friedrich Hayek, for example, called it a 'weasel word': the weasel is an animal that sucks out the contents of eggs and leaves behind the intact shell; in precisely the same manner, the word 'social' sucks out the meaning of 'justice' and leaves an empty shell where once stood a grand idea.”

You can read the entire article here.

To add to what I had written then, let us reflect on the fact that the concept of “social justice” implies that the market is somehow unjust. There is thus a role of The State in rendering market outcomes more just. The idea is that The State must “redistribute” the gains we make in markets. Only that will be “just” according to the socialist camp.

Actually, in markets, rewards can never be equal. Nor can they be fair. Nor do they reward merit. Professors are poorly paid; labourers earn a pittance; movie stars, models, sportspersons and other performing artistes rake in fortunes while classical musicians can barely make ends meet and tattoo artists earn more than portrait painters.

Socialists do not like this inequality – which they call ”unjust.” They want The State to institute social justice in order to create that “socialistic pattern of society” they yearn for.

Yet, this is a sentiment more suited to tribes than to developed market societies. In a tribe, the chief has to carve out the animal killed in the hunt so that all members of the tribe get an equal share. This is far removed from life in cities, wherein we are individuals not answerable to any chief. We take risks with our capital without asking anyone’s permission. And we partake in the gains or losses without seeking the intervention of any local leader. The market economy is Individualistic. The socialist idea is “atavistic” – seeking a return to primitive times. The socialist mind-set is therefore primitive – unable to grasp modern life.

We have been listening to the socialists for over 60 years and should have by now seen through their humbug. They have never helped the poor. On the contrary. They have perpetuated poverty. If millions of poor people are finally climbing out of poverty, buying mobile phones etc., the credit goes to the market, not The State.

So if you truly want to help poor people, raise a shout for the market.

And throw out “social justice.”