Equality, Prudence, and Ethical Individualism

Authors

  • Albert Weale University College London

Keywords:

equality, prudence, social contract theory, social welfare, risk aversion

Abstract

The idea of equality encompasses two logical aspects. First, it names a mathematical relation. Second, it identifies an important ethical value. This article considers the potential connection between these two aspects of equality by examining assumptions about risk aversion on the part of a decision maker operating behind a veil of ignorance. It presents the main theorems found in the work of Peter Lambert and places them within the context of a discussion on how the construction of the veil of ignorance might provide an ethical justification for social and economic equality. Additionally, it introduces the idea of the prudent decision-maker behind the veil of ignorance as one way of explicating the risk averse choices. Finally, it speculates on the extent to which the axiom of separability in rational choice should be required, while also questioning the extent to which the idea of separable social welfare functions exhibits a form of ethical individualism.

References

Allais, M. 1953 “Le Comportement de l’Homme Rationnel devant le Risque: Critique des Postulats et Axiomes de l’Ecole Americaine”, Econometrica 21(4): 503–546.

Atkinson, Anthony B. 1970 “On the Measurement of Inequality”,Journal of Economic Theory 2(3): 244–263. doi.org/10.1016/0022-0531(70)90039-6

—– 2015 Inequality: What Can Be Done? Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

Fleming, Marcus 1952 “A Cardinal Concept of Welfare”, Quarterly Journal of Economics 66(3): 366–384. doi.org/10.2307/1885309

Griffin, James 1998 Value Judgement: Improving Our Ethical Beliefs New York: Oxford University Press.

Hare, R.M. 1975 “Rawls’ Theory of Justice”, in Norman Daniels (ed.) Reading Rawls Oxford: Basil Blackwell, pp. 81–107.

Harsanyi, John C. 1953 “Cardinal Utility in Welfare Economics and in the Theory of Risk-Taking”, Journal of Political Economy 61(5): 434–435. doi.org/10.1086/257416

—– 1955 “Cardinal Welfare, Individualistic Ethics, and Interpersonal Comparisons of Utility”, Journal of Political Economy 63(4): 309–321. doi.org/10.1086/257678

—– 1975 “Nonlinear Social Welfare Functions”, Theory and Decision 6: 311–332.

Lambert, Peter J. 2001 The Distribution and Redistribution of Income Third Edition Manchester/New York: Manchester University Press.

—–, and Albert Weale 1981 “Equality, Risk-Aversion and Contractarian Social Choice”, Theory and Decision 13(1981): 109–127. doi.org/10.1007/BF00134213

Nietzsche, Friedrich Wilhelm 1883–85 Also sprach Zarathustra. Ein Buch für Alle und Keinen Project Gutenberg eBook. Peter Bellen (producer) March 26, 2003 [eBook 7205] Text to be included with any citation from this source: “This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. It may be copied, given away or re-used under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org. Outside the United States, a prospective reader will have to check the laws of the country where located before using this eBook.”

—– 1969 (trans.) Thus Spoke Zarathustra Introduction and translation by R.J. Hollingdale (trans.) Harmondsworth: Penguin.

Oliver, Adam 2017 The Origins of Behavioural Public Policy Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Piketty, Thomas 2014 Capital in the Twenty-First Century Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

Rawls, John 1972 A Theory of Justice Oxford: Oxford University Press.

—– 1999 A Theory of Justice (revised edition) Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

—– 2001 Justice as Fairness: A Restatement, edited by Erin Kelly. Cambridge, MA: Belknap Press.

Sen, Amartya 1973 On Economic Inequality Oxford: Clarendon Press.

—– 1979 “Equality of What?”, The Tanner Lecture on Human Values ophi.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/Sen-1979_Equality-of-What.pdf.

Smiley, Timothy 1963 “Relative Necessity”, The Journal of Symbolic Logic 28(2): 113–134. doi. org/10.2307/2271593

Smith, Adam 1790 The Theory of the Moral Sentiments D.D. Raphael and A.L. Macfie (eds) Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1976.

Sugden, Robert 2018 The Community of Advantage: A Behavioural Economist’s Defence of the Market Oxford: Oxford University Press. doi.org/10.1093/oso/9780198825142.001.0001

Weale, Albert 1980 “The Impossibility of Liberal Egalitarianism”, Analysis 40(1): 13–19. doi. org/10.1093/analys/40.1.13

—– 2020 Modern Social Contract Theory Oxford: Oxford University Press. doi.org/10.1093/oso/9780198853541.001.0001

Published

2024-01-19

How to Cite

Weale, A. (2024). Equality, Prudence, and Ethical Individualism. Journal of Income Distribution®, 32(3-4). Retrieved from https://jid.journals.yorku.ca/index.php/jid/article/view/40587

Similar Articles

<< < 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 > >> 

You may also start an advanced similarity search for this article.