Explaining moral variety

Journal ArticleReflection on the variety of forms of social life has long been a source of moral skepticism. The thought that there are many radically different social systems, each of which colors the way its members think about moral and political questions, has been thought by many moral philosophers to undermine confidence in our belief that our way of looking at -- or even posing -- these questions is the correct one.

Why immigration controls resemble apartheid in their adverse consequences for freedom

The attempt to control some people can all too quickly escalate into an effort that depends for success on controlling everyone, argues Chandran Kukathas in comparing immigration controls with South Africa’s notorious apartheid laws

Immigration controls resemble apartheid in failing to treat workers as people

Domestic labour forces cannot always fulfil the needs of employers, writes Chandran Kukatha

Cultural contradictions of socialism

Journal ArticleWhile no one has yet announced the death of capitalism, reports of its imminent demise have been as numerous as they have been exaggerated. Such reports have usually been bolstered by thoughtful analyses of the fundamental contradictions of capitalism, which was expected to come sliding-if not crashing-down under the weight of its own inconsistencies. Leaving aside Karl Marx's own predictions, twentieth-century analysts as diverse as Joseph Schumpeter, Daniel Bell, and Jurgen Habermas have asserted that the contradictions of capitalism could only mean that its days were numbered. Alas, all that has been established by these analyses is that predictive failure is no impediment to market success: either the consumer's demand for such theories of capitalism's failures is naturally robust, or supply continues to generate its own demand