Distributive Justice Lecture 1

Distributive JusticeLecture 1

Hilde Bojerwww.folk.uio.no/hbojer

hbojer@econ.uio.no

January 19, 2012

Distributive Justice Lecture 1

2Are you OK for textbooks?My office hours are by appointment only. Please mail me forappointments.May I bring my dog to the lectures?

Distributive Justice Lecture 1

Distributive justice???

3Concerns the just orrightdistribution of economic, or scarce, goods.Usually taken to be the just distribution ofincome and wealthI shall return to a discussion of these concepts

Distributive Justice Lecture 1

Scarce goods?

4a good: someone somewhere wants (more of) itscarce? More of the good means less of another goodEconomic goods : tradeable or transferable in some way.

Distributive Justice Lecture 1

Examples of economic goods

5Goods that you shop for in the ordinary way: food, clothes, books,computersYou know they are scarce because —-But there are also economic goods that you do not shop for:health serviceseducationNot distributed by way of income

Distributive Justice Lecture 1

6Technology has an impact on which goods are economic in thissense:Kidney transplantsFresh water

Distributive Justice Lecture 1

Two kinds of economic goods

7Individual goods:more to one person means less to anotherExample: foodPublic goods: my consumption does not diminish yoursExamples?Military defence is the favourite example

Distributive Justice Lecture 1

Public goods

8(Collective goods better term?)The enviromentClimateAre they economic goods?If you want to improve the environment, consumption of othergoods may have to be reduced.Climate?

Distributive Justice Lecture 1

9There are three channels for distributing economic goods:

I Income and wealth (individual goods)

I Direct transfers or rationing (health care)

I Government expenditure (or lack of expenditure)on publicgoods

Distributive Justice Lecture 1

10Goods that are not economic? not scarce?

Distributive Justice Lecture 1

11Global justiceLocal justiceexample: transplantsadmission to schools

Distributive Justice Lecture 1

Income distribution: Some examples

12Wayne Rooney earns £ 26 000 a day!Nozick’s reasoningBankers’ bonusesThe wage gap:Women’s average hourly earnings are about 80 per cent of men’s

Distributive Justice Lecture 1

Discrimination or free choice ?

13Argument: women choose their working time and their professionsThe outcome of free choice cannot be unfair.Different preferences?Different possibility sets?

Distributive Justice Lecture 1

14Is discrimination wrong?Why?In Norway, the trade unions negotiated different wage scales formen and womenuntil about 1958.What was the justification?

Distributive Justice Lecture 1

Examples cont

15Progressive tax on incomeTax on inheritanceTax on wealth (formuesskatt)Rate of interest — usurychild benefitThe tax payer’s money?

Distributive Justice Lecture 1

Moral and political philosophy?

16(Discussed by Kymlicka)Moral philosophy: Ethics.What is right and wrong for the individualPolitical philosophy:Concerns the moral foundations of the state (government)Democracy?What should decide the boundaries between the rights of theindividual and the rights of the state?Should there be freedom of religion?Rights of minorities? self government?

Distributive Justice Lecture 1

17These are NORMATIVE issuesand cannot be resolved by empirical investigations of how thingsareCan they be analysed in a scientific way?

Distributive Justice Lecture 1

18Some people mean no.Dominant view from about 1900 to 1970John Rawls : A Theory of Justice 1971started the contemporary academic debate about distributivejusticeThe debate has developed in many different directionsIn this course:The main schools of thoughtNo agreement

Distributive Justice Lecture 1

Method of analysis?

19ConsistencyCorrespondence with our intuitionsRawls: reflective equilibrium (cf W K)Precision of terms

Distributive Justice Lecture 1

Basic principles common to all?

20In modern times:All persons are morally equal.Everyone, man, woman, child, has a right to have their interestsrespected andreflected in public policyIs this a universal principle in our days?This course will build on that assumption

Distributive Justice Lecture 1

Equality of what?

21Agreement on moral equality does not imply agreement oneconomic equalityEconomic equality can be defined in a variety of ways:

I Equal wages

I Equal annual incomes

I Equal lifetime incomes

I Equal standards of living

Are some examples that we shall discuss in more detail

Distributive Justice Lecture 1

Some conflicts

221. Liberty versus distributionary concerns2. Equality versus efficiency3. Distribution accordning to merit or accordning to need?

Distributive Justice Lecture 1

Plan of lectures

23Week Date Subject

3 18/01 Introduction to the course4 25/01 Lecture 2:Welfarism5 1/02 Lecture 3:Welfarism6 8/02 Lecture 4:Welfarism7 15/02 Lecture 5: Rawls8 22/02 No teaching. Assignment to be written9 29/02 Lecture 6:Rawls

10 07/03 Lecture 7:Full income. The Capability Approach11 14/03 Lecture 8: Dworkin. Deserts and responsibility12 21/03 Lecture 9: Libertarianism13 28/03 Lecture 10: Marxism

Distributive Justice Lecture 1

2414 4/04 Easter. No lecture15 11/04 No lecture16 18/04 Lecture 11: Sex and Social Justice17 25/04 Lecture 12: Margin of safety18 2/05 Lecture 13:Review19 9/05 Margin of safety

Distributive Justice Lecture 1

25The lectures will follow my own textbook, more or lessPlese read the others in parallell:Kymlicka is another textbook, describing and commenting on thevarious theories.The book of readings gives texts written by the philosphersthemselves.When reading, please note:1. Do Bojer and Kymlicka give consistent descriptions of thevarious theories?If not: which are the differences? Are they substantial?2. Does Bojer give a fair summary of the various theories?3. Does Kymlicka?

Distributive Justice Lecture 1

Seminars

26There will be two parallel seminars,starting week 8Monday seminars will be in EnglishThursday seminars in Norwegian

Distributive Justice Lecture 1

27I hope to use the seminars to1. Discuss applications of the theories2. Discuss differences between the various texts.An extra seminar for non-economists?week 6Please mail me if you wish to attend onePlan for the seminars will be posted next week.