Debating Capitalism

Which form of capitalism serves justice, not just at home, but worldwide? In Debating Capitalism: Market Liberalism or Social Democracy, leading philosophers Richard J. Arneson and Jason Brennan square off in a clear, forceful, and timely debate about how market societies should be structured—and for whose benefit. Brennan defends a market liberal vision: strong property rights, open global trade, labor mobility, and minimal government interference. He claims that modern social democratic welfare states often serve the affluent. Social democracies redistribute from the global top 1% to the top 10%, while keeping the truly poor—those in developing countries—locked out. Capitalism, by contrast, has proven the most powerful force in history for reducing global poverty. Brennan argues that freer global markets, not bigger welfare states, are the moral path forward. Arneson defends social democratic capitalism, and in particular Nordic social democracy (NSD), featuring capitalist markets alongside pro-growth redistribution that delivers high-quality education, boosts the incomes of the poor, and presses toward equal opportunities between men and women and fairness between young and old. He makes a case for countries embracing an NSD model within their own borders, resulting in a world in which all countries are wealthy and can distribute wealth more fairly across persons and boost individual well-being equally. Together, Arneson and Brennan move the capitalism debate beyond slogans, diverging on how to weigh freedom vs. equality, and on the role of the state in shaping economic life. This results in Debating Capitalism—an accessible and refreshingly honest book offering two compelling visions for a just market society.