Speaker: Associate Professor Adrian Walsh (Philosophy, UNE) Date: Tuesday 4 September Time: 5.30-7pm Location: The University of Wollongong, Building 19, Room 1003.
Title: "Laisser-faire marketisation, Mill and the Harm Principle" Abstract: In this paper I explore the relationship between laissez-faire economic theory and Millian conceptions of non-intervention as embodied in the Harm Principle. Free market theorists typically assume any government intervention that is not a response to a genuine harm but involves a desire to promote is morally objectionable. In so arguing such theorists assume that a clear distinction can be drawn between mere hurts and morally considerable harms. Herein I raise two problems for such a picture, the first concerning whether the Harm Principle rules out positive assistance when the recipients request such assistance? The second concerns what counts as a harm in the economic context. In the competitive environment that is a part of modern economic activity, is it possible to distinguish easily between hurts and harms? I suggest that if we consider these questions closely we see ways in which Millian liberalism differs significantly from laissez-faire. Biography: Adrian Walsh is an Associate Professor in Philosophy at the University of New England. He works primarily in political philosophy and applied ethics. He is particularly interested in issues concerning the relationship between economic practice and values. Amongst other things, he has written on the morality of mercenarism, the role of thought experiments in ethics, Medieval economic theory and the commodification of natural resources. ---------------- Dr Sarah Sorial Senior Lecturer Philosophy The University of Wollongong Wollongong NSW 2522 Australia +61 2 4221 5034 _______________________________________________ SydPhil mailing list: http://bit.ly/sydphil New archive: http://bit.ly/SydPhilArchive To UNSUBSCRIBE, change your MEMBERSHIP OPTIONS, find ANSWERS TO COMMON PROBLEMS, or visit our ONLINE ARCHIVES, please go to the LIST INFORMATION PAGE: http://bit.ly/sydphil ... and if you can't get to that page, try the EMERGENCY PAGE: http://bit.ly/SydPhilEmergency
