ON LEAVING SPACE FOR ALTRUISM

It is sometimes argued that certain policies, institutions, or social structures (“practices”) fail to leave space for altruism, and that this renders them sufficiently morally objectionable to provide a presumptive case for political intervention—for example, for making such practices illegal. Our interest in this paper is to evaluate such arguments independently of other considerations. In particular, we are interested in cases where these arguments are offered against practices that would lead to a net increase in welfare. Our thesis is that they fail, or at least face serious objections.