I do not share Prof. Christenson`s premise that people are entitled to only so much wealth as he thinks they ”deserve.”
Take, for example, Michael Jordan, one of those athletes receiving
”multimillion dollar salaries.” As I understand it, Jordan makes more than I do because: 1) not being a slave, he is free to be ”greedy” enough to play for no less than his team is willing to pay him; and 2) basketball fans, who unanimously prefer his play to mine, are free to spend their time and money as they choose, totally heedless of some professor`s or journalist`s views on whether the slam dunk is ”socially productive.” What I don`t understand is how anyone can be said to own any money that can`t be spent for what the owner values, rather than what Prof. Christenson values.
The piece is shot through with Prof. Christenson`s value judgments on other people`s work. Fortunately for him, his right to be paid for his work is not dependent upon my opinion of its value.
