Congratulations to Dr. David Birks, whose new article, “Sin, Tyranny, and the Metaphysics of Money”, has been published in the January 2026 issue of Ethics, the most prestigious journal in moral, political, and legal philosophy, since 1890. This is the first time in PPA’s history that a faculty member has had a full-length article published in Ethics.

Is it right for states to use public money to build churches and football stadiums, even when some taxpayers think they shouldn’t have to contribute to things they don’t believe are worthwhile? Is it right to use taxpayers’ money to provide contraception and abortion services, when some have deeply held convictions that they are immoral? Many people think that it is wrong to use the coercive power of the state for these purposes. Thomas Jefferson wrote that “to compel a man to furnish contributions of money for the propagation of opinions which he disbelieves, is sinful and tyrannical.”

Along with his co-author, Ian Carroll, Birks criticises and rejects this common liberal view. In the paper, they argue that the answer to these questions could depend on our understanding of what money is. They show that contemporary political philosophy rests on an untenable assumption about the nature of money. On a different theory of money, held by Immanual Kant, J.M. Keynes, and more recently, by proponents of Modern Monetary Theory, such as Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, the state can create money to pay for these goods, rather than coercing taxpayers to fund them.

This paper has radical implications for a fundamental debate on the role of the state and its duties to its citizens.

Two of Dr Birks’ HKU students, Ida Hung and Angelica Bedaña, also contributed to the paper as his research assistants. Both are now pursuing further studies in law, a testament to the success of HKU’s research-led teaching and learning model.

This publication in Ethics is a significant achievement for a political theory scholar. Congratulations again to Dr Birks!

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