Prioritarianism, Levelling Down and Welfare Diffusion
Ethical Theory and Moral Practice 14 (3):307-311 (2011)
| Abstract | I have earlier argued that, like egalitarianism, prioritarianism is exposed to the levelling down objection—which I do not find serious—but also that it faces related, more serious objections that egalitarianism avoids. In this paper I reply to Thomas Porter’s attempt to rebut this argument. I also trace the more serious objections to prioritarianism to the fact that it implies the desirability of welfare diffusion, i.e. that it is better all things considered if a quantity of welfare is distributed over as many recipients as possible, so that each recipient gets a minimal benefit, and that the outcome would still be in one respect better, even if the quantity of welfare was reduced. In contrast to egalitarianism, prioritarianism therefore implies that it is in one respect better if an equality, or a solitary individual, is located at lower rather than a higher level of welfare | |||||||||
| Keywords | No keywords specified (fix it) | |||||||||
| Categories | ||||||||||
| Options |
|
|||||||||
Download options| PhilPapers Archive |
Upload a copy of this paper Check publisher's policy on self-archival Papers currently archived: 5,709 |
| External links |
 |
| Through your library | Configure |
Similar books and articlesIngmar Persson (2012). Prioritarianism and Welfare Reductions. Journal of Applied Philosophy 29 (3):n/a-n/a.
Ingmar Persson (2008). Why Levelling Down Could Be Worse for Prioritarianism Than for Egalitarianism. Ethical Theory and Moral Practice 11 (3):295 - 303.
Dale Dorsey (forthcoming). Equality-Tempered Prioritarianism. Politics, Philosophy and Economics.
Thomas Porter (2011). Prioritarianism and the Levelling Down Objection. Ethical Theory and Moral Practice 14 (2):197-206.
Karsten Klint Jensen (2003). What is the Difference Between (Moderate) Egalitarianism and Prioritarianism? Economics and Philosophy 19 (1):89-109.
Larry S. Temkin (2003). Equality, Priority or What? Economics and Philosophy 19 (1):61-87.
Martin Peterson & Sven Ove Hansson (2005). Equality and Priority. Utilitas 17 (3):299-309.
Thomas Porter (2012). In Defence of the Priority View. Utilitas 24 (03):349-364.
Nils Holtug (2009). Equality, Priority and Global Justice. Journal of Global Ethics 5 (3):173 – 179.
Marc Ramsay (2005). Teleological Egalitarianism Vs. The Slogan. Utilitas 17 (1):93-116.
Alex Voorhoeve (forthcoming). Review of Matthew D. Adler: Well-Being and Fair Distribution. Beyond Cost-Benefit Analysis. [REVIEW] Social Choice and Welfare.
David McCarthy (2008). Utilitarianism and Prioritarianism II. Economics and Philosophy 24 (01).
Caj Strandberg (2001). Two Conceptions of Inequality. Philosophical Papers 30 (2):169–199.
Campbell Brown (2007). Prioritarianism for Variable Populations. Philosophical Studies 134 (3):325 - 361.
Analytics
Monthly downloads |
Added to index2010-11-18Total downloads50 ( #21,171 of 549,754 )Recent downloads (6 months)4 ( #19,337 of 549,754 )How can I increase my downloads? |
My notes
Discussion
