Philosophical Underpinnings of the Economic System and its Relationship to Ethics and Social Justice (Research Paper Sample)

Philosophical Underpinnings of the Economic System and its Relationship to Ethics and Social Justice
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Institution
The world’s two major economic systems, socialism and capitalism, are underpinned in philosophical and moral/ethical principles that inform the distribution and sharing of resources. The tenets of socialism are straightforward on this issue; all members of society contribute- either as workers or investors- in the creation of society’s collective wealth. On the basis of this argument, socialism advocates for the communal ownership of wealth and fair/equal distribution of wealth. The ultimate goal of this philosophy is to end social and economic inequalities caused by the unequal distribution of resources between the rich and the poor. On its part, capitalism argues that society should provide a free market economy for unregulated competition among producers and service providers, and the mutual benefit between willing buyers and sellers. Accordingly, the existence of socio-economic inequalities is inevitable because some people are better competitors than others in terms of identifying and exploiting economic opportunities. However, even capitalism acknowledges that its free market economy creates a man-eat-man society in which the bourgeoisie class exploits the working class through unfair labor relations. As a result, capitalism employs damage control policies like social security, Supplemental Security Income (SSI), and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) to help the poor cope with the social inequalities created and sustained by capitalism. With reference to Social Security and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), this essay discusses the philosophical foundation of economic system and its relationship to ethics and social justice, as well as the problem of justice it presents.
Social Security is a U.S Federal government program whose largest expenditure is in paying retirement benefits. The purpose of the program is to ensure that retirees, especially low income individuals, do not retire into poverty (Kingson & Schultz, 1997, p. 183). In reality, social security is of value only to the poor who are unable to make normal savings due to the low wages they earn. Thus, the implementation of SS is informed by the acknowledgment that the free market economy (capitalism) is unfair to a section of society, and it is the duty of the government to implement policies that will cushion this marginalized group from the negative impact of economic exploitation after retirement from the workforce.
Other forms of Social Security programs such as the Survivors, Old Age and Disability Insurance are founded on the egalitarian moral principle that society should take care of its vulnerable members (Cohen, 2011, p. 172). The tax system that aims to take a big chunk of income from the upper class to support social security programs that largely benefit the poor reflect the economic system’s efforts to enforce social justice by creating a welfare state in which society takes responsibility for the wellbeing of its poor and marginalized members. The moral argument in support of the welfare state is that the government has to step in and provide a safety net for the poor who are victims of the man-eat-man market economy created by capitalism. As the protector of the poor, the government not only has the moral duty to intervene and safeguard the interests of the poor, but also has the moral authority to tax the rich for the purpose of supporting welfare programs.
The Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) is an extension of the moral responsibility that informs the creation of the welfare state. The TANF program is underpinned in the recognition that capitalism creates an unfair playing ground between the rich and the poor. TANF is a means of compensating the poor for the social ills they suffer as a result of an economic system that thrives on unfair labor relations between the poor and the rich. The TANF views the poor as victims of the capitalist economic model that rewards the few owners of the means of production.
The two income policies will elicit conflicting responses from liberal and conservative politicians. The liberal politician will support these programs under the liberal ideology that it is the duty of governments to solve social problems like poverty and social inequalities (Piper, 1997). In contrast, a conservative will oppose these policies on the basis of the free market ideology in which individuals take personal responsibility for their welfare. Therefore, the government has no right to take wealth from a section of the population (the rich) to give to another section (the poor).
The distribution of goods and services and individuals’ share in the goods and services is founded on paternalism, whereby the state takes it upon itself to prevent citizens from self-destructive behaviors. Good examples include legislations that regulate the sale and consumption of alcoholic beverages, and illegalization of prostitution and hard drugs. Such regulations are based on the assumptions that citizens do not know what is good for them, and that they will i...