The new number of Regulation (Vol. 48, no. 1 [Spring 2025]) Functions, under the section “From the Past”, my review of the book by Anthony de Jasay Justice and its environment (Liberty Fund, 2002). This book can rely more on political philosophers than to economists compared to Against politics (Routledge, 1997) that I recently assessed for Econlib. We always find a dose of both philosophy and economy in the writings of the Jasay, which is not surprising, because a proposal for social organization has moral substantiation – requires many value judgments such as economists say.
Against politics should probably be read earlier Justice and its environmentBut because both books are collections of articles, the reader can, as it were, choose his difficulty level within each. And his groundbreaking book The state Probably the best access door remains to his thought; Moreover, it is Available online At the online library of Liberty.
To go back to my last Regulation Review (available online in both HTML And PDF Versions – Scroll to P. 55 in the latter case) of Justice and its environmentHere are a few fragments:
Ownership can be considered the infrastructure of society and it is, with the result of trade, “prior to the political authority.” Allwuntary private relationships and the All-Coercive state are located on the two extremes of a spectrum. …
The Jasay argues that a cooperative game is played in society, not a prison-dilemma game, and that subject is not necessarily required to a central enforcement. …
In an original typology, the Jasay considers one right As made by a voluntary exchange with a matching obligation. I borrow $ 100 for a year, and you agree to accept the obligation to repay $ 104 next year; That is why at that time I am entitled to $ 104. A freedom Is something physically feasible that I can do if it is not an unlawful act and does not violate an obligation that I accepted. …
We can encapsulate the Jasay’s complex justice theory in a combination of a strong suspicion of freedom (or in fact, freedoms), spontaneous conventions such as the basis of the law and a strong respect for private ownership. …
The Jasay does not believe in a general and formal equality before the law when the liberal state is called to provide. This is because there is no state in his theory. He could say that equality actually exist before conventions exist. Many will find this as a weakness of his theory, at least in a standard classic liberal perspective.
Other interesting aspects of Justice and its environment Take on the attack on egalitarianism and socialism, including market socialism. The Jasay also criticizes Buchanan’s social contractors, although he shows a lot of respect for him – because Buchanan expressed a lot of respect for the work of the Jasay. My review treats more and offers more details.