Law and Economics: Rational and Objective or Fundamentally Unjust?

We are happy to announce our Philosophy Talk of the term presented by Professor Patricia Marino, Law and economics: rational and objective or fundamentally unjust? WHEN: Wednesday November 5th at 5pm WHERE: Hagey Hall Room 345 DESCRIPTION: Law and economics is the application of economic theory to legal reasoning: in this increasingly influential approach, laws are understood not in terms of justice and rights, but rather as efficient solutions to the problems of organizing society. In normative law and economics, the aim of the legal system is to maximize social welfare. Normative law and economics thus echoes the ethical theory of utilitarianism, where the right action is the one that produces the best consequences. Like utilitarianism, law and economics reasoning faces challenges to do with ethical values such as justice, fairness, and equality: what if the best consequences sacrifice some people's interests for the good of others, increase inequality, or violate other ethical norms? In this talk, I showcase these problems through examples related to tax policy, environmental injustice, and health care resource allocation; I then explain how proponents of law and economics respond to these challenges. We can then discuss together whether law and economics is a rational, objective alternative to arbitrary decision-making or whether its recommendations can be fundamentally unjust. Snacks and drinks will be provided. This talk is open to all members of the UW community, no experience or expertise in philosophy required. We hope to see you there for an interesting philosophy talk and discussion on philosophy of economics!