Michael J. Sandel (born March 5, 1953) is an American political philosopher and a professor at Harvard University. He is best known for the Harvard course ‘Justice’, which is available to view online, and for his critique of John Rawls‘ A Theory of Justice in his first book, Liberalism and the Limits of Justice (1982).
The video below would help a UPSC aspirant in dealing with the paper on Ethics and Integrity which is there in the syllabus for Main examination.
Episode 03
Part 1 – FREE TO CHOOSE
With humorous references to Bill Gates and Michael Jordan, Sandel introduces the libertarian notion that redistributive taxation—taxing the rich to give to the poor—is akin to forced labor.
PART 2 – WHO OWNS ME?
Students first discuss the arguments behind redistributive taxation. If you live in a society that has a system of progressive taxation, aren’t you obligated to pay your taxes? Don’t many rich people often acquire their wealth through sheer luck or family fortune? A group of students dubbed “Team Libertarian” volunteers to defend the libertarian philosophy against these objections. (Source: Harvard)
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