Luck Egalitarianism

by Kasper Lippert-Rasmussen

Overview

Kasper Lippert-Rasmussen tackles all the major questions concerning luck egalitarianism, providing deep, penetrating and original discussion of recent academic discourses on distributive justice as well as responses to some of the main objections in the literature. It offers a new answer to the “Why equality?” and “Equality of what?” questions, and provides a robust luck egalitarian response to the recent criticisms of luck egalitarianism by social relations egalitarians.

This systematic, theoretical introduction illustrates the broader picture of distributive justice and enables the reader to understand the core intuitions underlying, or conflicting with, luck egalitarianism.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781472570444
Publisher:	Bloomsbury Publishing
Publication date:	10/08/2015
Series:	Bloomsbury Ethics
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	280
File size:	424 KB

About the Author

Kasper Lippert-Rasmussen is Professor of Political Theory at the University of Aarhus, Denmark and Professor II in Philosophy at the University of Tromsø, Norway. His most recent book is Born Free and Equal? A Philosophical Inquiry into the Nature of Discrimination (2013).
Kasper Lippert-Rasmussen is Professor of Political Theory at the University of Aarhus, Denmark and Professor II in Philosophy at the University of Tromsø, Norway. His most recent book is Born Free and Equal? A Philosophical Inquiry into the Nature of Discrimination (2013).

Table of Contents

Chapter 1. Luck egalitarianism and some close and distant relatives
1.1 Introduction
1.2 What is luck egalitarianism?
1.3 What is attractive about luck egalitarianism?
1.4 Three important luck egalitarians: Dworkin
1.5 Three important luck egalitarians: Arneson
1.6 Three important luck egalitarians: Cohen
1.7 Luck egalitarianism and other views
1.8 Summary

Chapter 2. Why equality?
2.1 Introduction
2.2 Formal equality
2.3 Equality of human beings
2.4 Williams on the idea of equality
2.5 Rawls on range properties
2.6 Respect and opaqueness
2.7 A different proposal
2.8 Summary

Chapter 3. Luck
3.1 Introduction
3.2 Different kinds of luck
3.3 Thin luck
3.4 Thick luck
3.5 Independent notions of luck
3.6 How much luck is there?
3.7 Constitutive luck
3.8 Option luck versus brute luck
3.9 Neutralizing luck and equality
3.10 Bad luck versus good luck
3.11 Summary

Chapter 4. Equality of what?
4.1 Introduction
4.2 Welfare
4.3 The specification objection
4.4 The disability objection
4.5 The offensive preference objection
4.6 The experience and snobbish tastes objection
4.7 The non-instrumental concern objection
4.8 Dworkin's resourcist view
4.9 Sen's capability metric
4.10 Summary

Chapter 5. Telic and deontic luck egalitarianism
5.1 Introduction
5.2 Some distinctions
5.3 Telic versus deontic and the scope of equality
5.4 The levelling down objection
5.5 Telic egalitarianism and the levelling down objection
5.6 Deontic egalitarianism and the levelling down objection
5.7 Egalitarian responses
5.8 Summary

Chapter 6. The scope of luck egalitarianism
6.1 Introduction
6.2 Whole lives
6.3 Generations
6.4 Groups
6.5 States
6.6 Individuals who are neither persons nor human beings
6.7 Summary

Chapter 7. Social relations egalitarianism versus luck egalitarianism
7.1 Introduction
7.2 Social relations egalitarianism
7.3 Anderson's democratic equality
7.4 Humiliation and harshness
7.5 What is at stake?
7.6 The source of the disagreement between social relations and luck egalitarians?
7.7 Summary

Chapter 8. Other values
8.1 Introduction
8.2 Freedom
8.3 Demandingness
8.4 Community
8.5 Publicity and stability
8.6 Reflections
8.7 Conclusion

Bibliography
Index

Editorial Reviews

This brilliant and challenging book … Illuminates different conceptions of luck, as found in the philosophical literature, clarifies the difference between telic and deontic equality, and explains the 'levelling down' problem and the way that this affects luck egalitarians, and egalitarians more generally.” —Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews

“Lippert-Rasmussen's book offers both a reliable and critically sophisticated guide to the debate on luck egalitarianism from one of its shrewdest and most subtle contributors, and also advances several new interesting ideas and proposals ... This book is a model of its kind. It should be read by everyone with an interest in contemporary debates on distributive justice.” —Ethical Theory and Moral Practice

“The book provides a well-balanced overview of luck egalitarianism with a well-chosen ordering of the different chapters ... An excellent introduction.” —Ethical Perspectives

“Lippert-Rasmussen's book makes a tremendous contribution to our understanding of luck egalitarianism and will no doubt become a central reference point for both its proponents and its critics.” —Ethics

From the Publisher