Otteson argues that respect for individuals requires that government should usually not alter the results of free exchanges, and so redistribution is usually wrong. McMullen argues that governments should redistribute wealth in so that all have a minimal opportunity to participate in economic life.

Steven McMullen is Associate Professor of Economics at Hope College and Executive Editor of the journal Faith & Economics. He is the author of Animals and the Economy (2016) and Digital Life Together: The Challenge of Technology for Christian Schools (2020).

James R. Otteson is John T. Ryan Jr. Professor of Business Ethics, and Faculty Director of the Notre Dame Deloitte Center for Ethical Leadership, Business Honors Program, and Business Ethics and Society Program, at the University of Notre Dame. His most recent books are Honorable Business (2019) and Seven Deadly Economic Sins (2021).

Foreword 1. Redistribution to Expand Economic Opportunity 2. Justifying Wealth Redistribution: Can the High Burden be Met? 3. Poverty, Moral Hazard, and the State: Reply to James R. Otteson 4. Difficulties with the Wealth Redistribution Argument: Reply to Steven McMullen 5. Distributive Justice, Economic Growth, and the Welfare State: Reply to James's Reply 6. How to Care for the Poor, and How Not to: Reply to McMullen's Reply