Equality and Justice
Equality and Justice

Summary/Abstract: Equality’ is a contested concept: “People who praise it or disparage it disagree about what they are praising or disparaging” (Dworkin 2000, p. 2). Our first task is therefore to provide a clear definition of equality in the face of widespread misconceptions about its meaning as a political idea. So in what respects are people equal? According to the Declaration of Independence, all men are equally endowed with rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.We must ask whether justice is always synonymous with equality.How, then, is social justice to be defined? Would we want to live in a society in which incomes were, literally, equal? And, if not, what's the right amount of inequality, and do we have too little or too much at present? In thinking about distributive justice, the natural tendency is to focus on income and wealth. Our own treatment of the topic will follow a similar bias. Nonetheless, other outcomes or "goods"- political rights, individual liberties, economic efficiency, and happiness - also matter."

• Details
• Contents