Wednesday, April 19, 2017

Libertarianism and support for progressive redistribution

In light of this past Monday's paper at our colloquium discussing the possibility that libertarians might support a universal basic income, I thought it might be germane to note my 2013 article, "The Forgotten Henry Simons," which explains how and why  Simons combined (a) considering himself a libertarian, at a time when this was a far lonelier stance than it is today, with (b) favoring a highly progressive income tax.

The accepted meaning of "libertarianism" has changed significantly since Simons died more than 70 years ago, but he was indeed closely associated with Friedrich Hayek, and George Stiglitz dubbed him the "Crown Prince of ... the Chicago school of economics."

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