Politics, Philosophy and Economics 8 (2):173-199 (2009)
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Abstract |
Justice makes demands upon us. But these demands, important though they may be, are not the only moral demands that we face. Our lives ought to be responsive to other values too. However, some philosophers have identified an apparent tension between those values and norms, such as justice, that seem to transcend the arena of small-scale interpersonal relations and those that are most at home in precisely that arena. How, then, are we to engage with all of the values and norms that we take to apply to us? In this article, I discuss one way that we might hope to resolve the tension and its relation to John Rawls's `basic structure restriction'. The prospect of resolution is offered by the idea of a `division of moral labour', according to which the pursuit of certain values is assigned to institutions and not to individuals. According to Rawls's basic structure restriction, principles of justice are applicable only to the institutions of the basic structure of society. The possibility of a connection between the division of moral labour and the basic structure restriction readily suggests itself. Taking G.A. Cohen's well-known `incentives' critique of the basic structure restriction as a starting point, I consider five ways in which that restriction might be defended by appeal to the division of moral labour. I conclude that none of these defences succeeds, for none convinces that the conditions in which it makes sense to apply the division of moral labour idea obtain for Rawls's conception of distributive justice. Although the division of moral labour is an attractive proposal, it can do no work in a Rawlsian context. Key Words: Cohen • distributive justice • egalitarian ethos • equality • Rawls.
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Keywords | G.A. Cohen egalitarian ethos distributive justice equality John Rawls Basic structure |
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DOI | 10.1177/1470594X09102236 |
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References found in this work BETA
Is the Basic Structure Basic?Samuel Scheffler - 2006 - In Christine Sypnowich (ed.), The Egalitarian Conscience: Essays in Honour of G. A. Cohen. Oxford University Press.
Citations of this work BETA
Facts, Principles, and (Real) Politics.Enzo Rossi - 2016 - Ethical Theory and Moral Practice 19 (2):505-520.
Rawlsian Institutionalism and Business Ethics: Does It Matter Whether Corporations Are Part of the Basic Structure of Society?Brian Berkey - 2021 - Business Ethics Quarterly 31 (2):179-209.
Navigating Our Way Between Market and State.Jeffery Smith - 2019 - Business Ethics Quarterly 29 (1):127-141.
Efficiency and Ethically Responsible Management.Jeffery Smith - 2018 - Journal of Business Ethics 150 (3):603-618.
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2009-04-04
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