Inequality and Justice

Socio-economic inequality is and remains a crucial challenge within countries, Europe and the world. The gap between the poor and the rich is growing and poverty is still causing hardship for a substantial part of the population in both developed and developing countries. All this raises obvious issues with respect to distributive justice. Which socio-economic inequalities can be justified and on which basis? What is the most relevant conception of equality in this respect: equality of opportunity, of results or of resources? Which policy proposals would best tackle the problems posed by inequality?We will analyze contemporary theories of distributive justice and read philosophical texts on (in)equality (Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Amartya Sen, Thomas Scanlon, Derek Parfit, Jonathan Wolff). In addition, we will go into empirical data about fairness perceptions (Dan Ariely) and policy proposals by both NGO’s (Oxfam) and economists (Joseph Stiglitz, Anthony Atkinson).