Cohen vs. Rawls on justice and equality
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 12609769 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Donald Moon (0000-0002-7691-1439, Wesleyan University, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2015 |
| Volume | 18 |
| Issue | 1 |
| Pages | 40-56 |
| Publication date | 2015-01-02 |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Critical Review of International Social and Political Philosophy (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1369-8230 • E-ISSN: 1743-8772 |
| Publisher | Taylor & Francis (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1080/13698230.2014.995500 |
| OpenAlex | W2012561467 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 2 |
| References cited | 15 |
G.A. Cohen criticizes Rawls’s account of justice because his difference principle permits inequalities that reflect the relative scarcity of different skills and natural abilities. Instead of viewing the ‘basic structure’ as the primary subject of justice, Cohen argues that individual citizens should cultivate an egalitarian ethos, which would enable a just society to dispense with the use of incentive payments to induce individuals to use their talents in socially ideal ways. This study examines Cohen’s critique, including his rejection of ‘incentives,’ and vindicates Rawls’s approach. Ultimately, Cohen’s argument fails to grapple with the moral pluralism that characterizes modern, democratic societies, whereas Rawls’s theory is constructed to accommodate such pluralism
Argument (complex analysis · Autonomy · Democracy · Economic Justice · Economics · Epistemology · Ethos · Law and economics · Pluralism (philosophy · Political science · Politics · Primary goods · Sociology · Critical Theory and Philosophy · Law · Philosophical Ethics and Theory · Philosophy · Political Philosophy and Ethics
Justice as Fairness
The Economics of Feasible Socialism Revisited
The Situationist Critique and Early Confucian Virtue Ethics
A Theory of Justice
Rescuing Justice and Equality
A Theory of Justice
If You're an Egalitarian, How Come You’re So Rich?
Why Not Socialism
Estimating Labor Supply Responses Using Tax Reforms
The Rejection of Consequentialism
Life is not a camping trip – on the desirability of Cohenite socialism
Justice as fairness
Facts and Principles
What Would a Rawlsian Ethos of Justice Look Like
| Citations per year | 0.25 |
|---|---|
| Citation span | 2018 - 2023 (6) |
| Highly cited | No |