Still the land of opportunity?
The writer argues that the fairness of any particular distribution of incomes cannot be assessed in isolation from the nature of the system that produces that distribution. She contends that the perceived fairness of the distribution process is of vital importance, and the rules governing who benef...
| Publicado en: | Public Interest no. 135; pp. 3 - 18 |
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| Formato: | Artículo |
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Public Interest
Spring 1999
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| Acceso en línea: | Ver este registro en EBSCOhost |
| Sumario: | The writer argues that the fairness of any particular distribution of incomes cannot be assessed in isolation from the nature of the system that produces that distribution. She contends that the perceived fairness of the distribution process is of vital importance, and the rules governing who benefits and who loses out matter as much as the outcomes that result. Criticizing the tendency to focus the debate about “equal opportunity” on income inequality, she suggests that opportunity itself should become the central issue. Noting the initial inequalities of family environments and genetic inheritances among children, she points out that even the most effective measures have been unable to compensate for these differences. She concludes by observing that a policy of redistributing income after the fact would not be in accord with public sentiment in America. |
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