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Single Idea 20536

[filed under theme 25. Social Practice / B. Equalities / 4. Economic equality ]

Full Idea

Without inequalities, people will have no incentive to do one job rather than another - to do the kind of work which is most useful.

Gist of Idea

Inequalities are needed, as incentives to do the most important jobs

Source

Adam Swift (Political Philosophy (3rd ed) [2014], 1 'Rawls')

Book Ref

Swift,Adam: 'Political Philosophy (3rd edn)' [Polity 2014], p.28

A Reaction

The reality is that the lowest pay goes to the jobs that no one wants to do, and all the really nice jobs are usually well paid. Which is a conspiracy, because all the salaries are set by the people with the nice jobs.

The 24 ideas from 'Political Philosophy (3rd ed)'

20556 The best way to build a cohesive community is to be involved in a war [Swift]
20533 Justice can be seen as fairness or entitlement or desert [Swift]
20540 Redistributing wealth treats some people as means, rather than as ends [Swift]
20541 You can't necessarily sell your legitimate right to something, even if you produced it [Swift]
20536 Inequalities are needed, as incentives to do the most important jobs [Swift]
20535 Isn't it more rational to maximise the average position, but with a safety net? [Swift]
20537 Hypothetical contracts have no binding force [Swift]
20542 Cosmopolitans reject the right of different states to distribute resources in different ways [Swift]
20546 Libertarians about property ignore the fact that private property is a denial of freedoms [Swift]
20547 We should respect the right of people to live in their own way, even if it is irrational [Swift]
20545 Maybe a freedom is from a restraint, and also in order to do something [Swift]
20550 Opportunity should ignore extraneous factors, or foster competence, or ignore all disadvantages [Swift]
20551 Men have had the power to structure all of our social institutions [Swift]
20548 A person can desire redistibution of wealth, without it being for reasons of equality [Swift]
20557 Membership and inclusion in a community implies non-membership and exclusion [Swift]
20553 Liberals mistakenly think individuals choose their values, without reference to the community [Swift]
20555 Liberals are concerned to protect individuals from too much community [Swift]
20554 Multiculturalism is a barrier to the whole state being a community [Swift]
20564 Anti-colonial movements usually invoke the right of their 'people' to self-determination [Swift]
20559 Democracy is bad, but the other systems are worse [Swift]
20560 Teledemocracy omits debate and deliberation, which are important parts of good decisions [Swift]
20561 Since all opinions are treated as equal in democracy, it implies there are no right answers [Swift]
20562 Design your democracy to treat citizens equally, or to produce better citizens? [Swift]
20563 Design your democracy to yield political stability, or good decisions? [Swift]