A Republic of Equals: A Manifesto for a Just Society

Jonathan Rothwell; Jonathan Rothwell

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A Republic of Equals

A Manifesto for a Just Society

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Language: English

Published/Copyright: 2019

About this book

Why political inequality is to blame for economic and social injustice

Political equality is the most basic tenet of democracy. Yet in America and other democratic nations, those with political power have special access to markets and public services. A Republic of Equals traces the massive income inequality observed in the United States and other rich democracies to politicized markets and avoidable gaps in opportunity—and explains why they are the root cause of what ails democracy today.

In this provocative book, economist Jonathan Rothwell draws on the latest empirical evidence from across the social sciences to demonstrate how rich democracies have allowed racial politics and the interests of those at the top to subordinate justice. He looks at the rise of nationalism in Europe and the United States, revealing how this trend overlaps with racial prejudice and is related to mounting frustration with a political status quo that thrives on income inequality and inefficient markets. But economic differences are by no means inevitable. Differences in group status by race and ethnicity are dynamic and have reversed themselves across continents and within countries. Inequalities persist between races in the United States because Black Americans are denied equal access to markets and public services. Meanwhile, elite professional associations carve out privileged market status for their members, leading to compensation in excess of their skills.

A Republic of Equals provides a bold new perspective on how to foster greater political and social equality, while moving societies closer to what a true republic should be.

Author / Editor information

Jonathan Rothwell is the principal economist at Gallup, a nonresident senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, and a visiting scholar at George Washington University. He lives in Washington, DC. Twitter @jtrothwell

Reviews

"This book is necessary, interesting, and at times surprising." --- "The book contains many surprises documented with scholarly research and statistical analyses. The fact that Rothwell is principal economist at Gallup and senior fellow at the Brookings Institution makes his approach and conclusions even more valuable—even if I don’t always agree with him. I am not sure he will succeed selling the value of free markets to the left or, for that matter, to the right, but his book is well worth reading if one wants to think seriously about equality and inequality."---Pierre Lemieux, EconLib --- "A searching examination of the decline of democratic ideals in the face of inequality—racial, political, and economic. It is also striking on many counts, including its fluency in several branches of the social sciences beyond economics. The author resists easy characterization. There's something to ponder on every page. A sometimes-daunting but essential addition to the discussion of inequality and its remedies." --- "Superb."---David Brooks, New York Times

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Frontmatter
i

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Contents
v

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Acknowledgments
vii

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1. Behind the Discontent
1

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2. The Natural Foundations of a Just Society
51

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3. Merit-Based Egalitarianism
68

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4. The Importance of Equal Access to Public Goods and Markets
99

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5. Unequal Access to Education
116

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6. The Historical Contingencies of Group Differences in Skills
148

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7. Unequal Access to Housing Markets
191

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8. How Unequal Access to Housing Perpetuates Group Inequality and Injustice
219

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9. Unequal Access to the Buying and Selling of Professional Services
242

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10. Creating a Just Society
273

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Appendix
295

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Notes
317

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Index
369

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Publishing information

Pages and Images/Illustrations in book

eBook published on:

November 18, 2019

eBook ISBN:

9780691189987

Pages and Images/Illustrations in book

https://doi.org/10.1515/9780691189987

eBook ISBN: 9780691189987

Keywords for this book

Income; Black people; Economic inequality; Employment; White people; Poverty; Equal opportunity; Developed country; Competition; African Americans; Percentage; Just society; Profession; Social status; Racism; Entrepreneurship; Wealth; Salary; Tax; Educational attainment; Of Education; American Community Survey; Slavery; Professional services; Bachelor's degree; Immigration; Income distribution; Literacy; Jews; Expense; Percentage point; Institution; Economic growth; Middle class; Physician; Economist; Family income; Welfare; Career; Percentile; Public policy; Zoning; Requirement; Americans; The Bell Curve; Immigration policy; Consumer; Ethnic group; Retirement; Racial segregation; Insurance; Economics; Technology; Payment; Graduate school; Social science; Politician; Estimation; Well-being; Teacher; Economic power; Year; ZIP code; Taxpayer; Social class; Alt-right; Globalization; Public good; Household; Productivity

Audience(s) for this book

For an expert adult audience, including professional development and academic research

Princeton University Press

A Republic of Equals

Overview

About this book

Author / Editor information

Reviews

Topics

Table of contents

Frontmatter

Contents

Acknowledgments

1. Behind the Discontent

2. The Natural Foundations of a Just Society

3. Merit-Based Egalitarianism

4. The Importance of Equal Access to Public Goods and Markets

5. Unequal Access to Education

6. The Historical Contingencies of Group Differences in Skills

7. Unequal Access to Housing Markets

8. How Unequal Access to Housing Perpetuates Group Inequality and Injustice

9. Unequal Access to the Buying and Selling of Professional Services

10. Creating a Just Society

Appendix

Notes

Index

Bibliographic data