Presentation: Arguments for an Upper Limit to Individual Wealth Acquisition in the History of Practical Philosophy

In contemporary political philosophy, a debate is emerging on ‘limitarianism’, the proposal to put upper limits to individual wealth acquisition. In this talk, Fair Limits associate Matthias Kramm discusses some arguments made by writers in the history of economic and political philosophy for ideas that can be considered proto-types to limitarianism. Such proto-limitarian claims or arguments can be found in four moral domains: moral psychology, moral reasoning, virtue ethics, and political morality. While in the present-day context the view that there should be an upper limit to wealth may sound too radical, Kramm shows that throughout history, many influential philosophers made proto-limitarian claims, including many intrinsic arguments for wealth limitarianism.