How Did Justin Trudeau's Quest To Stop Income Inequality

POL113: Ideas and Ideologies

Instructor: Dr. Aslan Amani

Justin Trudeau’s quest to stop income inequality in Canada

By Sebastian Velez-Bolivar

1003506495

March 18 2017

1330

The concept of equality, and making sure everyone is treated well has become an important value in most societies. I am someone who has grown up in a North American society and have had these values instilled in me. For instance, in school, we are taught about people and their different cultures, and religions and the idea that they must be respected no matter what. In today's society fighting social inequalities are often championed, however fighting issues like income Inequality are much more divisive or ignored. Back in 2015, Justin Trudeau

The upper class, in theory, could help end inequality because they have more money to spend and will gain it back at a faster rate. However, the upper class may reject Trudeau’s process of redistributing wealth as they may fear to lose a certain social ranking. Friedrich Hayek referred the upper class who think this way as. “Conservatives who are inclined to “defend a particular established hierarchy and wished authority to protect the status of those whom he values”( Hayek,1960). This quote highlights why it is so difficult to tackle the issue of income inequality in the first place for one because they may feel so far removed the issue, therefore, they may not relate or act on the problem. Upper-class conservatives will be hard on Trudeau not only because their money is at stake but also because they believe their freedom is as well. According to Political Philosophy: Edition 3.“Advocates of negative liberty, they think, believe that freedom is essentially to do with being free from things (constraints, obstacles or interference”(Swift,2014). This idea was coined by Berlin is welcome by money conservatives, however, hurts the poor and middle class as only government interference will help them move in a better direction and Trudeau must do this by implementing elements of

In fact, socialism can have various positive impacts that benefit everyone according to G. A. Cohen. Cohen begins his argument by asking the readers to imagine camping trip with friends and loved ones work together to get things done easily. G. A. Cohen provides examples of this in the book Why Not Socialism? by saying. “We have, for example, pots and pans, oil, coffee, fishing rods, canoes, a soccer ball, decks of cards, and so forth. And, as is usual on camping trips, we avail ourselves of those facilities collectively: even if they are privately owned things, they are under collective control for the duration of the trip, and we have shared understandings about who is going to use them when, and under what circumstances, and why”(Cohen,2009). This long quote highlights the benefits of implementing more socialism in Canada as socialism defeats both Friedrich Hayek and Isaiah Berlin’s theories. For example, Berlin believes that no government interference is good and people can still strive without it however that would not be the case according to Cohen. G. A. Cohen would believe the poor and middle class without basic necessities would lack in fundamental freedom. For instance, one is technically not free if they can not afford things to eat and so on thus people need to be guaranteed something stable like a job or a home. The idea of the camping trip did