In the Name of Liberty: The Argument for Universal Unionization, By Mark R. Reiff (2020) Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 432 pages. ISBN: 978-1-10884-978-4

In his recently published book, Reiff proposes a case for universal unionization based not on the effects of unionization but on freedom; a defense of universal unionization that is said to be moral rather than consequentialist. In a context of declining unionization rates (in both Canada and the United States) and a rise in “Right to Work” legislation (as seen in Wisconsin, for example), to argue for universal or compulsory unionization is quite bold. Nonetheless, Reiff makes a compelling case, which is made even more original by using freedom as its focal point rather than equality. In the first and shortest essay entitled “A Libertarian Argument for Unions”, Reiff imagines how business would be conducted in a libertarian utopia. Reiff examines whether unions would spontaneously arise by first wondering what private enterprise would look like in such a utopia. According to the author, firms would be likely to arise, i.e. enterprises organized in hierarchical structures where numerous employees perform specialized and complementary tasks. Because firms would try to minimize transaction costs, some would grow quite large. The larger the firm, the stronger to incentive for workers to band together to negotiate as a group, possibly even hiring professionals to bargain for them. According to Reiff, libertarians who oppose unions also tend to be economic neoliberals, which seems, to the author at least, inconsistent. After all, if one opposes regulation by government, one should oppose government intervention in worker activities. Thus, unions would be part of even the most libertarian utopia. The second essay entitled “The Union as a Basic Institution of Society” is both the longest and most compelling. According to Reiff, the goal of the essay is to provide “a moral theory for understanding the role that unions should play in the contemporary liberal capitalist state”. If society is viewed as having three levels (a basic structure, its basic institutions, and the output of said institutions), unions should be considered a basic societal institution, i.e. an institution that is necessary to make the basic structure more likely to be just. To determine if the union is a basic institution, focus should not be placed on specific rights, which unions may support or infringe upon (an approach which Reiff calls post-institutional). Rather, the focus of inquiry should be on the general rights (namely freedom and equality) from which other rights derive. From here, Reiff turns his attention to three forms of liberty: negative, positive and republican. Reiff’s argument is firmly based in the concept of Republican liberty, that is to say the Roman concept of not being subject to another’s arbitrary will. If left unchecked, the firm represents a threat to Republican liberty, which can be countered through universal unionization. Reiff echoes the idea made famous by Elizabeth Anderson that employers can be viewed as private totalitarian governments. Thus, according to the author “unions are a necessary institution if employees are to resist the kind of arbitrary treatment that is within the firm to impose”. The third essay in the collection is entitled “In Defense of Public Sector Unionization”. Reiff begins by addressing the main arguments made by those who call for a differentiation between public sector unionization and private sector unionization. He begins by noting that though public agencies are not motivated by profit, they are under constant pressure to reduce costs, thereby impacting public sector workers. Furthermore, through the lack of competition in a given geographical area “buying” a particular kind of labour, public agencies can act as monopsonies. Thus, the need for an agent (in this case, the union) to act as an internal check of managerial …