5 - Liberal-egalitarianism - Ethics

Differences with libertarianism

they do not have a good theory of redistributive justice. Rawls disagree with the fact that because, the result of juste procedures are fair, even if there are huge inequalities.

A good theory of justice for Rawls should

say something over a right social share of societal justice

Rawls principal publication

A theory of justice 1971

Rawls disagree with intuitionalism

he thinks that meritocrat ethics focuses too much on external initial ressources.

But fair society should also focus on internal.

According to rawls a fair society must neutralize

The effect of internal initial ressources.

Meritocratic justice is not enough

The proportion to make efforts is also due to social family circumstances

• natural lottery = not unfair but we don’t deserve our talents

What is unfair for rawls

what institutions do with thos inequalities —> need to compensate those who lost at the natural lottery.

Rawls argues that we should use the internal ressources of the most talented to benefit to the less talented.

The original positions

hypothetical scenario used to establish principles of justice through a thought experiment. Participants in the original position are placed behind a "veil of ignorance."

The veil of ignorance

They do not know:

• Their social status, class, wealth, or income.

• Their natural abilities, talents, or disabilities.

• Their gender, race, religion, or conception of the good life.

This ensures impartiality, as no one can tailor principles to their advantage.

• Participants are rational and self-interested. They aim to secure the best possible outcomes for themselves, knowing they could end up in any social position.
  

• Rawls argues that rational participants would choose two key principles of justice:

  • Equal Basic Liberties

  • Difference Principle

Difference Principle

Second Principles b of Rawls

Social and economic inequalities are justified only if they benefit the least advantaged members of society and are attached to positions open to all under conditions of fair equality of opportunity.

The principles of Rawls

1. Basic Rights and liberties

2. Social and Economic Inequalities

   a. Fair Equality of Opportunity

   b. Difference Principle

3. Income and wealth

Basic Rights and liberties

"Each person is to have an equal right to the most extensive total system of equal basic liberties compatible with a similar system of liberty for all."

This principle ensures equal basic rights and freedoms (e.g., freedom of speech, voting rights) for all individuals. These liberties cannot be traded or compromised for social or economic gains.

These are fundamental. But not absolute = there is exception

Three broad categories of rights and liberties

1. Personal liberties

2. Political liberties

3. Procedural liberties = Rule of law

Power and prerogatives and opportunities for acces to positions and offices.

Second principles of Rawls= social and economic inequalities are to be arranged.

• inequalities can be just = priority to principle 1

  a. Fair equality of opportunity

  b. to the greatest benefit to the least-advantaged = difference principles

To be really free you need

Access to wealth and income, it is fundamental to Rawls

absent in libertarianism

Communism is different from liberal egalitarianism

because we do not need to reach the perfect equality of income.

—> because need incentives to make efforts.

We want the most talented to use their talent to make the economy grow.

Objection of the levelling down

• Equality for its own sake can lead to undesirable outcomes: Levelling down may make everyone equal, but it often does so by making people worse off overall.

• No benefit to anyone: If equality is achieved by making the better-off worse off without improving the situation of the worse-off, it does not benefit anyone.

not imply the difference principle because not everyone has the same income

Rawls Compensation ??

Receiving and giving

he is ambiguous about it —> he says that it is mediated by the state institutions.

Who are the minimin in the maximin? The worse least-advantaged ?

FREEMAN = the economically least advantaged = the poorest

2 ways of measuring poverty in economics

1. Absolute poverty

   = When people lack the basic necessities for survival.

2. Relative poverty

   = level of life worse than the general standard of living —> struggle to live a normal life and to participate in ordinary economic, social and cultural activities.

The social bases of self-respect.

One of the social primary good.

How others and social institutions treats you.

—> social institutions provide citizens social recognition

The social bases of self respect are covered partially by 3 principles

1. opportunities for acces to positions and offices. ( 2A)

2. For all (1)

3. Income equality // Sandel dignity of work.

Rawls theory is not the same as utilitarianism.

utility =/ social primary goods/

• Social primary goods inclue income but also social basic of self respect / opportunities / basic rights and liberties.

• Rawls is a liberal , libertarian = he is against utilitarianism.

• Maximin = witouth first principles we should force people to work = violation of free choices.

Why Rawls is against utilitarianism

Because principle 1. —> Utilitarianism would justify the sacrifice of rights and liberties to maximize the aggregate welfare.

Critics of Rawls

He leaves too little space to individuals choices.

Rawls go too far by saying that everything is a matter of circumstances and not choices ( dworkin)

Dworkin

He says that theres not only endowment-insensitives but also choice-insensitives.

We should distinguish “ brute luck” and “option luck”

Brute luck and option luck

Dworkin = We should have compensations for inequalities only for brute bad luck.

Limitarianism

Robeyns = Radical version of liberal-egalitarianism.

Rijkdom —> Maximizing the minimun = we should tax more the rich.

No one should have more than 10 mil. = political limit. ( non ideal society) / ethical limit (in a ideal society )

2 arguments of Robeyns

1. the democratic argument

Large economic inequalities and the concentration of wealth threaten a central ideal of democracies. everyone should be able to exercise equal influences in political outcomes by universal suffrages.

2. Unmet urgent needs

Our planet is characterized by extreme global poverty.

for the incentives = she get back to rawls saying that we should adapt taxation system.

For opening borders

• Veil of ignorance, dont know where you born. = brute bad luck

• underestimation on how much freedom of movements is essential

• equal opportunities

• difference principle to individual societies

• In The Law of Peoples, Rawls recognizes basic human rights as universal.

Against opening boarders

• Rawls theory applied to a close society

• In the Law of people - Rawls = The unmet urgent needs , need to be looked at a global level. — we should get to a global maximin.

• Rawls = people would adopt institutions that are mirroring the political context…