ABSTRACT
This chapter examines an attempt by certain influential economists to show that no such inconsistency exists: one may, they claim, consistently hold an individualistic value system and be a supporter of the welfare state. It addresses to non-economists, it begins with a brief exposition of the main features of the theory of public goods. A public good is a good that is jointly consumed by the members of some group of people. The importance of the distinction between altruism and duty is that only altruism creates public goods. Most economists have not given much thought to the idea of duty, but have simply assumed that unselfish behaviour can be explained by altruism. Thus, proponents of the public good argument for the welfare state must show more than that people are motivated to act unselfishly; they must show that this motivation stems from altruism rather than duty.
