Free Market Fairness
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''Free Market Fairness'' is a 2012 book of
political philosophy Political philosophy studies the theoretical and conceptual foundations of politics. It examines the nature, scope, and Political legitimacy, legitimacy of political institutions, such as State (polity), states. This field investigates different ...
written by John Tomasi, president of the
Heterodox Academy Heterodox Academy (HxA) is a Nonprofit organization, nonprofit advocacy group of academics working to counteract what they see as a lack of viewpoint diversity on college campuses, specifically political diversity. The organization was founded in ...
and former Professor of Political Philosophy at
Brown University Brown University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Providence, Rhode Island, United States. It is the List of colonial colleges, seventh-oldest institution of higher education in the US, founded in 1764 as the ' ...
. Tomasi presents the concept of "free market fairness" or "market democracy," a middle ground between
Friedrich Hayek Friedrich August von Hayek (8 May 1899 – 23 March 1992) was an Austrian-born British academic and philosopher. He is known for his contributions to political economy, political philosophy and intellectual history. Hayek shared the 1974 Nobe ...
and
John Rawls John Bordley Rawls (; February 21, 1921 – November 24, 2002) was an American moral philosophy, moral, legal philosophy, legal and Political philosophy, political philosopher in the Modern liberalism in the United States, modern liberal tradit ...
's ideas. The book was widely reviewed.


Content

Tomasi looks at followers of
Friedrich Hayek Friedrich August von Hayek (8 May 1899 – 23 March 1992) was an Austrian-born British academic and philosopher. He is known for his contributions to political economy, political philosophy and intellectual history. Hayek shared the 1974 Nobe ...
on the right and
John Rawls John Bordley Rawls (; February 21, 1921 – November 24, 2002) was an American moral philosophy, moral, legal philosophy, legal and Political philosophy, political philosopher in the Modern liberalism in the United States, modern liberal tradit ...
on the left, only to conclude that both views are not mutually exclusive.Richard N. Cooper
Free Market Fairness
''
Foreign Affairs ''Foreign Affairs'' is an American magazine of international relations and foreign policy of the United States, U.S. foreign policy published by the Council on Foreign Relations, a nonprofit organization, nonprofit, nonpartisan, membership or ...
'', November/December 2012
Taken together, they can lead to "free market fairness" or "market democracy", whereby the government is not prescriptive, but makes sure opportunities are available to all. Tomasi's fusionist-inspired project combines a foundational commitment to social justice with a foundational commitment to private economic liberty. Tomasi calls this hybrid "market democracy" and he holds it up as a moral rival to familiar conceptions of social democratic justice. "Free Market Fairness" is a leading text of the movement known as " Bleeding Heart Libertarianism," which seeks to combine a commitment to economic liberty with a commitment to social justice. In 2018, Tomasi traveled to
Santiago, Chile Santiago (, ; ), also known as Santiago de Chile (), is the capital and largest city of Chile and one of the largest cities in the Americas. It is located in the country's central valley and is the center of the Santiago Metropolitan Regi ...
to meet with Chilean President
Sebastián Pinera Sebastian (; ) was an early Christian saint and martyr. According to traditional belief, he was killed during the Diocletianic Persecution of Christians. He was initially tied to a post or tree and shot with arrows, though this did not kill h ...
for a public discussion on the application of Tomasi's model of market democracy at the policy level.


Critical reception

Writing for ''
The Wall Street Journal ''The Wall Street Journal'' (''WSJ''), also referred to simply as the ''Journal,'' is an American newspaper based in New York City. The newspaper provides extensive coverage of news, especially business and finance. It operates on a subscriptio ...
'', Adam Wolfson suggested, "Mr. Tomasi's book is emphatically a work of political theory, not a blueprint for political action, much less a catalog of policy solutions."Adam Wolfson
Occupy Common Ground
''The Wall Street Journal'', March 29, 2012
In the peer-reviewed academic journal "Political Theory," Elizabeth Anderson describes "Free Market Fairness" as launching "a major research program - Market Democracy." Anderson writes, "market democracy offers a refreshing change from stale debates within libertarian and high liberal ideal theory. Tomasi is right to stress that the economy is an important domain of liberty wrongly denigrated by high liberals, as distributive justice has been wrongly denigrated by libertarians." In a review in the European journal "Res Publica," Alan Thomas calls Free Market Fairness "a landmark publication in political philosophy." Thomas writes "It deserves many readers for its clarity, intelligence, openness to the ideas of others and yet insistence that the classically liberal tradition deserves to be represented alongside the standard options in recent political philosophy." Res Publica (2013) 12:381-385 In ''
The Financial Times The ''Financial Times'' (''FT'') is a British daily newspaper printed in broadsheet and also published digitally that focuses on business and economic Current affairs (news format), current affairs. Based in London, the paper is owned by a Jap ...
'',
Samuel Brittan Sir Samuel Brittan (29 December 1933 – 12 October 2020) was an English journalist and author. He was the first economics correspondent for the ''Financial Times'', and later a long-time columnist. He was a member of the Academic Advisory Council ...
criticized this, adding, "Unfortunately the book does not live up to its splendid introduction."Samuel Brittan
Free Market Fairness
''The Financial Times'', May 6, 2012
He concluded, "Tomasi describes free-market fairness as a research programme rather than a fixed dogma. There is clearly a lot more to research." In ''Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews'', Andrew Koppelman, a Professor of Law at
Northwestern University Northwestern University (NU) is a Private university, private research university in Evanston, Illinois, United States. Established in 1851 to serve the historic Northwest Territory, it is the oldest University charter, chartered university in ...
, suggested, "Tomasi's book is a useful corrective to both Rawls and Hayek."Andrew Koppelman
Book review: Free Market Fairness
''Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews'', May 5, 2012
However, he argued that Tomasi's ideas were at times unrealistic, warning, "Ideals can be dangerous if too far removed from the realities of human life." Similarly, ''
The Boston Review ''Boston Review'' is an American quarterly political and literary magazine. It publishes political, social, and historical analysis, literary and cultural criticism, book reviews, fiction, and poetry, both online and in print. Its signature form ...
'' published a nuanced review, commenting, "The book is written in a friendly, relaxed tone," but adding that his arguments were not "persuasive."Martin O'Neill, Thad Williamson
Free Market Fairness
''The Boston Review'', November 5, 2012
They concluded by disagreeing with Tomasi, concluding, "The moral goods of exercising freedom through market activities would be more widely realized under a regime of Rawlsian property-owning democracy than under the sort of minimally regulated capitalism that Tomasi celebrates." In the peer-reviewed academic journal '' Critical Review: A Journal of Politics and Society'', Mark Pennington, a Professor of Political Economy at
King's College, London King's College London (informally King's or KCL) is a public university, public research university in London, England. King's was established by royal charter in 1829 under the patronage of George IV of the United Kingdom, King George IV ...
suggests the book "offers a challenging and innovative case for classical liberalism."Mark Pennington, ealistic Idealism and Classical Liberalism: Evaluating Free Market Fairness ''Critical Review: A Journal of Politics and Society'', 08 Oct 2014 In another peer-reviewed academic journal, ''
The Journal of Politics ''The Journal of Politics'' is a peer-reviewed academic journal of political science established in 1939 and published quarterly (February, May, August and November) by University of Chicago Press on behalf of the Southern Political Science Assoc ...
'', Eric MacGilvray, a Professor of Political Science at
Ohio State University The Ohio State University (Ohio State or OSU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio, United States. A member of the University System of Ohio, it was founded in 1870. It is one ...
offered a similarly positive review, starting with "I find a lot to praise in Free Market Fairness."Eric MacGilvray

''The Journal of Politics'', Volume 75, Issue 02, April 2013
He went on to critique Tomasi's use of the word "libertarian" as both pro-free market and "high liberal." Moreover, in ''
The Mises Review The Ludwig von Mises Institute for Austrian Economics, or Mises Institute, is a nonprofit think tank headquartered in Auburn, Alabama, that is a center for Austrian economics, right-wing libertarian thought and the paleolibertarian and anarcho ...
'', the journal of the libertarian think tank
Ludwig von Mises Institute The Ludwig von Mises Institute for Austrian Economics, or Mises Institute, is a nonprofit think tank headquartered in Auburn, Alabama, that is a center for Austrian economics, right-wing libertarian thought and the paleolibertarian and anarcho ...
, David Gordon praised the book, adding "every reader of his book will learn a great deal from it."David Gordon
Free Market Fairness
, ''Mises Review'', Volume 18, Number 1, January 2012
Critical Symposia on Free Market Fairness have been hosted by
Bleeding Heart Libertarianism
,
The Journal of Politics ''The Journal of Politics'' is a peer-reviewed academic journal of political science established in 1939 and published quarterly (February, May, August and November) by University of Chicago Press on behalf of the Southern Political Science Assoc ...
,
Critical Review
', and ''
Res Publica ', also spelled ''rēs pūblica'' to indicate vowel length, is a Latin phrase, loosely meaning "public affair". It is the root of the ''republic'', and '' commonwealth'' has traditionally been used as a synonym for it; however, translations var ...
''.


References

{{Reflist 2012 non-fiction books Political books Political philosophy Conservative media in the United States Princeton University Press books