Raymond Plant, F. A. Hayek, and Social Justice

Raymond Plant has developed a powerful critical dialogue with the thought of F. A. Hayek, especially with the latter’s contention about ‘the mirage of social justice’ and the denial of social rights in a market order. My argument is that Plant has powerfully shown the relevance of the subject matter of social justice within a market order. He has also provided a very powerful case for the understanding of the satisfaction of basic needs as a duty of strict obligation. Satisfaction of basic needs, however, amounts to the definition of a safety net—not necessarily to a general principle of distribution according to need.