PHIL384 - Distributive Justice

Distributive Justice (concept)

The moral question of how goods, resources, and opportunities should be fairly distributed in society.

Egalitarianism (theory)

The belief that justice requires equality in some relevant dimension.

Equalisandum (term)

The specific "currency" of equality—what should be equalized (e.g., welfare, resources, advantage).

Luck Egalitarianism (Cohen)

Inequalities are unjust if due to brute luck, but permissible if from responsible choice.

Brute Luck (Cohen)

Circumstances beyond one's control that affect life outcomes.

Option Luck (Cohen)

Outcomes resulting from voluntary risks or choices.

Involuntary Disadvantage (Cohen)

Harm or shortfall not traceable to individual choice.

Responsibility Principle (Cohen)

Justice requires compensating only for disadvantages one is not responsible for.

Equality of Welfare (Rawls/Cohen)

Each person should have equal well-being, but criticized for catering to expensive tastes.

Equality of Resources (Dworkin)

People should have equal access to resources and opportunities, not welfare outcomes.

Equality of Opportunity for Welfare (Arneson/Cohen)

Everyone should have equal chances to achieve welfare given similar effort.

Equal Access to Advantage (Cohen)

Justice equalizes people's total opportunity for both welfare and resources.

Advantage (Cohen)

The combination of resources, welfare, and capability that determines how well a person can live.

Handicap Example (Cohen)

A disabled but happy person still deserves compensation since disability limits access to advantage.

Disability and Pain (Cohen)

Illustrate why both welfare and resources must be considered in justice.

Justice as Fairness (Rawls)

A conception of justice grounded in fairness and equality of opportunity.

Original Position (Rawls)

Hypothetical situation where people design just principles without knowing their social position.

Veil of Ignorance (Rawls)

Condition of impartiality ensuring fair principle selection.

Two Principles of Justice (Rawls)

Equal basic liberties and inequalities benefiting the least advantaged.

Difference Principle (Rawls)

Economic inequalities are just only if they improve the position of the worst-off.

Fair Equality of Opportunity (Rawls)

Everyone with equal talent and effort should have equal access to positions.

Primary Goods (Rawls)

Rights, opportunities, income, wealth, and self-respect—things all rational agents want.

Maximin Rule (Rawls)

Choose the policy maximizing welfare for the least advantaged person.

Luck vs. Choice (Rawls)

Justice corrects arbitrary inequalities from luck but respects differences from choice.

Social Welfare Function (Adler)

Framework ranking social states by the distribution of individual well-being.

Welfarism (Adler)

The view that social value depends only on individuals' well-being.

Consequentialism (Adler)

Evaluates actions by their outcomes rather than intentions.

Well-Being (Adler)

How well a person's life goes, measured by happiness, preference, or objective goods.

Interpersonal Comparisons (Adler)

Assessing well-being differences between people to guide fair distribution.

Declining Marginal Well-Being (Adler)

Each additional dollar brings less benefit as income rises.

Utilitarian SWF (Adler)

Sums total welfare, ignoring how it's distributed.

Prioritarian SWF (Adler)

Gives extra weight to benefits for the worse-off.

Leximin SWF (Adler)

Ranks distributions by welfare of the worst-off, then second-worst, etc.

Egalitarian SWF (Adler)

Prefers equality itself, sensitive to relative differences.

Sufficientist SWF (Adler)

Ensures everyone reaches a threshold of well-being; beyond it, equality matters less.

Pigou-Dalton Principle (Adler)

Transfers from rich to poor that reduce inequality without reducing total welfare are ethically better.

Separability (Adler)

Outcome rankings shouldn't depend on welfare levels of unaffected people.

Pareto Principle (Adler)

If everyone is at least as well off and someone better off, the change is good.

Arrow's Impossibility Theorem (Adler)

No decision rule perfectly converts individual preferences into a consistent social ranking.

Policy under Uncertainty (Adler)

Evaluating choices as probability distributions over outcomes.

Prioritarianism (Parfit/Adler)

Benefits to the worse-off count more, but equality itself isn't required.

Egalitarianism vs. Prioritarianism (Adler)

Egalitarians care about relative position; prioritarians care about helping the worse-off.

Sufficientism (Crisp/Adler)

Justice requires ensuring everyone has enough; inequality beyond sufficiency is acceptable.

Utilitarianism (Bentham)

The right policy maximizes total happiness or welfare.

Welfare Economics (Adler)

Uses welfare measures and social welfare functions to judge fair and efficient policies.

Capabilities Approach (Sen)

Justice should focus on what people are actually able to do and be.

Capability vs. Welfare (Sen)

Capabilities measure real freedoms; welfare measures satisfaction or pleasure.