This is philosophy bites with me, Nigel.
Warburton and me, David Edmonds.
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Not many contemporary philosophers have reached high political office, but the distinguished Harvard academic Roberto Unger has served as a minister in his native brazilian.
Unger's writings sharply divide opinion supporters and disciples venerate him as a visionary.
Unger believes that the world is made and imagined by man, and it can be reimagined.
Linked to this notion is his concept of deep freedom.
Roberto Unger, welcome to philosophy bites.
Thank you very much for this opportunity.
The topic we're going to focus on is deep freedom.
What is deep freedom?
In the present ideological debate, the right appear to be those who give priority to freedom and the left those who give priority to equality.
However, both the existing right and the existing left, except the present institutional arrangements of the market economy and of democratic politics.
Therefore, what is now in contest is shallow freedom against shallow equality.
Take the anglo american theories of justice.
Like John Rawls theory, there is an egalitarian commitment, combined, however, with a thoroughgoing institutional conservatism or skepticism.
What results is a philosophical justification of compensatory and retrospective redistribution through tax and transfer programs.
In other words, these theories of justice are a kind of philosophical gloss on the compensatory practices of conventional, institutionally conservative social democracy.