Kolm and the dismemberment of self-ownership. A “liberal” justification for income redistribution

Jean-Sébastien Gharbi

Table of Contents

Abstract

The concept of self-ownership is central in debates on philosophical groundings of liberal theories of social justice. This article discusses the relevance, the originality, and the scope of Serge-Christophe Kolm’s original position (2005) regarding this key concept. Indeed, dismemberment of self-ownership is one of Kolm’s major proposals, which has far-reaching consequences in terms of income redistribution, and of individual freedoms of choice equalization.

JEL classification: D31, H20, P26

Keywords

  • income redistribution
  • self-ownership
  • liberalism
  • Elie
  • Kolm