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Full Idea
In welfare legislation, liberals concentrate on what people need rather than on what they deserve.
Gist of Idea
Liberal welfare focuses on need rather than desert
Source
John Kekes (Against Liberalism [1997], 01,2)
Book Ref
Kekes,John: 'Against Liberalism' [Cornell 1997], p.5
A Reaction
He makes assessing what people 'deserve' sound easy. Do drowning people deserve to be rescued? Do billionaires deserve their wealth (which is not the same as 'did they acquire it legally')? What do rude people deserve?
| 7226 | Benefits performed by individuals, not by government, help also to educate them [Mill] |
| 23417 | If the state is neutral, there won't be sufficient community to support a welfare state [Taylor,C, by Kymlicka] |
| 23378 | The welfare state helps to integrate the working classes into a national culture [Kymlicka] |
| 23083 | Liberal welfare focuses on need rather than desert [Kekes] |
| 22832 | Welfare is needed if citizens are to accept the obligations of a liberal state [Charvet] |