Distributive Justice and Disability: Utilitarianism against Egalitarianism
Mark S. Stein
Abstract
Theories of distributive justice are most severely tested in the area of disability. This book argues that utilitarianism performs better than egalitarian theories in this area: whereas egalitarianism helps the disabled either too little or too much, utilitarianism achieves the proper balance by placing resources where they will do the most good. The book offers what may be the broadest critique of egalitarian theory from a utilitarian perspective. It addresses the work of egalitarian theorists John Rawls, Ronald Dworkin, Amartya Sen, Bruce Ackerman, Martha Nussbaum, Norman Daniels, Philippe V ... More
Theories of distributive justice are most severely tested in the area of disability. This book argues that utilitarianism performs better than egalitarian theories in this area: whereas egalitarianism helps the disabled either too little or too much, utilitarianism achieves the proper balance by placing resources where they will do the most good. The book offers what may be the broadest critique of egalitarian theory from a utilitarian perspective. It addresses the work of egalitarian theorists John Rawls, Ronald Dworkin, Amartya Sen, Bruce Ackerman, Martha Nussbaum, Norman Daniels, Philippe Van Parijs, and others. It claims that egalitarians are often driven to borrow elements of utilitarianism in order to make their theories at all plausible. The book concludes with an acknowledgment that both utilitarians and egalitarians face problems in the distribution of life-saving medical resources. It advocates a version of utilitarianism that would distribute life-saving resources based on life expectancy, not quality of life. Egalitarian theories, it argues, ignore life expectancy and so are again found wanting.
Keywords:
distributive justice,
disability,
utilitarianism,
egalitarianism,
medical resources,
life expectancy,
quality of life,
John Rawls,
Ronald Dworkin,
Amartya Sen
Bibliographic Information
| Print publication date: 2006 |
Print ISBN-13: 9780300100570 |
| Published to Yale Scholarship Online: October 2013 |
DOI:10.12987/yale/9780300100570.001.0001 |
