Spontaneous order and positive legislation: Ruminating on Daniel Shapiro’s justification of the welfare state

Abstract

Daniel Shapiro’s Is the Welfare State Justified? uses arguments and findings from social science to rebut various claims advanced by political philosophers in support of the welfare state. Shapiro considers four philosophical orientations that have been employed in support of the welfare state, after which he argues that the normative concerns articulated within those orientations would be better addressed through market-based arrangements. It should be noted, however, that Shapiro does not really reject the welfare state, for he accepts its teleological framework. Indeed, the main limitation of this thoughtful book resides in its failure to explore some of the relationships between teleological action and spontaneous ordering.