The False Dichotomy between Freedom and Justice June 23, 2009

Host: American Enterprise Institute. What is the best way to help Americans in need? How we approach this question cuts to our core beliefs about how society should be rightly ordered. For some, the free market is the most natural tool to use in the fight against poverty because it fosters innovation and prosperity while providing equal opportunity to all citizens. Others argue that social justice is best achieved through economic redistribution, in which a benevolent, centralized government levels the playing field and ensures equal results for all citizens. If the free market is the most efficient way to deliver goods and services across the American economy, does the risk of economic inequality make it unjust? If the idealism of social justice stifles economic growth through policies designed to ensure similar outcomes for all, does it take mobility and opportunity from the very people it is trying to save? Society often portrays mercy and equality as goals that conflict with innovation and efficiency. But is it true that free markets are incompatible with social justice?

At this event, Marvin Olasky will discuss the false dichotomy between freedom and justice and offer his ideas on reconciling these aims. Olasky is editor-in-chief of WORLD Magazine, provost of the King's College, professor of journalism at the University of Texas at Austin, and the author of over thirteen books of history and cultural analysis. He will be joined by James W. Skillen, president of the Center for Public Justice. AEI's Henry Olsen will moderate.

Official Website: http://www.aei.org/event/100076