"For the sake of life on Earth, we must put a limit on wealth"

On 19 September an article about climate change appeared in The Guardian. The article suggests that there should be a limit to income. The theory of Prof. Ingrid Robeyns (Philosophy), called limitarianism, is cited to address the problem of extreme wealth. 

Robeyns argues that "there should be an upper limit to the amount of income and wealth a person can amass. Just as we recognise a poverty line, below which no one should fall, we should recognise a riches line, above which no one should rise. This call for a levelling down is perhaps the most blasphemous idea in contemporary discourse."

We cannot afford the rich

"But her arguments are sound. Surplus money allows some people to exercise inordinate power over others: in the workplace; in politics; and above all in the capture, use and destruction of the planet’s natural wealth. If everyone is to flourish, we cannot afford the rich. Life on Earth depends on moderation."

Ingrid Robeyns

Ingrid Robeyns is a philosopher, and also connected to Institutions for Open Societies - an interdisciplinary research area of Utrecht University focused on the development and expansion of healthy open societies everywhere.