Basic Goods Quotes

“What is a just society? For the purposes of this book, I propose the following imperfect definition. A just society is one that allows all of its members access to the widest possible range of fundamental goods. Fundamental goods include education, health, the right to vote, and more generally to participate as fully as possible in the various forms of social, cultural, economic, civic, and political life. A just society organizes socioeconomic relations, property rights, and the distribution of income and wealth in such a way as to allow its least advantaged members to enjoy the highest possible life conditions. A just society in no way requires absolute uniformity or equality. To the extent that income and wealth inequalities are the result of different aspirations and distinct life choices or permit improvement of the standard of living and expansion of the opportunities available to the disadvantaged, they may be considered just. But this must be demonstrated, not assumed, and this argument cannot be invoked to justify any degree of inequality whatsoever, as it too often is.”
― Thomas Piketty, Capital and Ideology

“The premise of this book is that basic goods, namely those goods and services that meet basic human needs, are at the center of human progress. The approach views basic goods as the ingredients of well-being in that they allow human beings to be secure, healthy, literate, and able to participate effectively in their societies. They are the material prerequisites of capability expansion and can help to support growth processes. Basic goods provision is part of minimalist approaches to ethics and systems of basic human rights, namely subsistence rights. Significant deprivations in basic goods and services are widespread, and we face significant challenges to overcoming these deprivations. Basic goods might not be what matters above all else, but they nonetheless matter a great deal.”
― Kenneth A. Reinert, No Small Hope: Towards the Universal Provision of Basic Goods