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In Search of the Market's Moral Limits: Liberalism, Perfectionism, and “The Bad Man” in Christian Perspective

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  24 April 2015

William Joseph Wagner
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Extract

In a world of but few moral verities, Judge Richard Posner and others pursuing the economic approach to law have introduced a normative principle into discussions of law and policy that receives very wide currency. They propose that society should always sanction market exchanges, as a means of maximizing wealth, unless some exceptional normative commitment on society's part requires otherwise. Where the principle reigns, nonmarket values are treated as restrictions on individual autonomy requiring special justification.

As a consequence, the justifiability of restricting market freedom becomes a standard mode of framing normative issues. Disagreements about values are formulated as disputes over whether contracts should be enforced. Arguments are made for and against enforcing contracts for the purchase and sale of votes, the intervivos transfer of eyes or kidneys, addictive recreational drugs, enslavement or prostitution, and environmental purity.

Type
Articles
Information
Journal of Law and Religion , Volume 11 , Issue 2 , June 1994 , pp. 535 - 549
Copyright
Copyright © Center for the Study of Law and Religion at Emory University 1994

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References

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