Amerikkalainen keskustelu sosiaalipolitiikasta

Edelliseen postaukseeni liittyen olen lukenut kommentteja Bowlesin ja Gintisin tekstiin Is Equalite Passe?. Kaikesta esittämästäni hyvinvointivaltio-kritiikistä huolimatta olen hämmentynyt siitä, että USA:ssa todella laajasti ajatellaan että köyhyyden poistaminen ei ole ollenkaan valtion asia.

Taloustieteilijät Kevin McCabe and Vernon Smith toteavat:

We think the widespread experimental and other evidence for the innate practice of reciprocity by some, but not all agents (roughly half our subjects choose reciprocity, and half choose noncooperative play when given a choice) in decentralized processes of social exchange, suggest that the problem of distributional transfers might best be handled by individuals, acting alone or through social institutions. That is, the alleviation of poverty should largely be considered none of the government's business, and in this sense belongs in the same category with drugs, abortion, health care, population size, prostitution, schooling and religion.

Vasemmistolaiset taloustieteilijät Bowles ja Gintis vastaavat:

Third, while we agree with McCabe and Smith about the facts concerning reciprocity motives, we find no merit in their view that "the alleviation of poverty should be none of the government's business" (along with health and schooling). Alleviating poverty is a form of social insurance for which there are no private markets (you can buy insurance on your life or property, but not your future income). Moreover, the absence of poverty is a public good, like environmental quality or public safety, the provision of which through private markets is bound to be insufficient. Voters have strong preferences to live in a society which protects all of its members against dire poverty, and these preferences simply cannot be implemented by private acts of charity. Still, we agree with McCabe and Smith that governments could be much more inventive in subjecting their own actions to more stringent tests of accountability to the public's heterogeneous preferences.

Minulla ei ole itselläni mustavalkoista mielipidettä asiaan paitsi että uskon spesifisesti pohjoismaisen hyvinvointiyhteiskunnan olevan kestävyysvajeen edessä. Tämä ei ole kuitenkaan periaatteellinen kanta hyvinvointiyhteiskuntaa vastaan.