Richard J. Arneson is an American philosopher specializing in political philosophy who has taught at the University of California, San Diego since 1973.
In 1996, he also served as visiting professor in the ethics, politics, and economics program at Yale University.
[1] Arneson has also critiqued Marxism, arguing that capitalism was exploitative for more complex reasons than the labour theory of value accounted for.
Nonetheless, he says, surplus transfer is legitimate when it arises independently or when it is used to compensate the unequal distribution of natural endowments and wealth.
Arneson has also contributed to debates concerning obligations from involuntary benefits, arguing that in some instances the "voluntary acceptance" condition ought to be relaxed.