"The word 'redistribution' implies that there is a distribution that is default, and that we redistribute when we modify the distribution away from it. This, of course, is wrong. There is no default distribution. All distributions are the consequence of any number of institutional design choices, none of which are commanded by the fabric of the universe. [...]
"These are very basic examples, but literally every single institutional choice that is made surrounding the economy sets the stage for the distribution that results [...]
"So there is no baseline default distribution against which we can measure redistribution. Instead, there are a multiplicity of possible distributions, none of which is more natural, or less interventionist, or whatever than any other. All of these possible distributions can, in a sense, be called redistributive relative to all the other possible distributions. But calling them redistributive tells us nothing more than that they differ from each other.
"Given the incoherent nature of 'redistribution' as an objective category, the only thing we are really left to do is debate about which distribution we want." [...]
-- Matt Bruenig, 2012-09-20
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