Justice and Economic

Distribution
David Humphreys

Origins and Relevance

Origins rooted in theories of Natural Law, in particular, the work of the social
contractarians:
St. Thomas Aquinas (to a lesser extent)

Lex iniusta non est lex.

Thomas Hobbes

The life of man before the social contract was solitary, poor, nasty, brutish and
short.
John Locke

Attaches particular importance to: a) mans right to resist the tyranny of unjust
authority, and b) mans right to property.
Jean-Jacques Rousseau

Each of us puts his person and all his power in common under the supreme
direction of the general will.

The concept of the Social Contract was highly influential in both the French and
American revolutionary wars:

Declaration of Independence - We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men

are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable
Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.

The Social Contract is generally considered to be the jurisprudential reference

point for modern theories of distributive justice.

Distribution of US Wealth 2009

Bottom 80%; 13%

Top 1%; 36%
80-95 Percentile; 24%

95-99 Percentile; 28%

The Rawls-Nozick Exchange

John Rawls

Egalitarian

Justice is fairness

What is just is to be determined by two

principles:

1) Each person is to have an equal

right to the most extensive scheme of
equal basic liberties compatible with a
similar scheme of basic liberties for
others.
2) Social and economic inequalities are
to be arranged so that they are both a)
reasonably
expected
to
be
to
everyones
advantage,
and
b)
attached to positions and offices open
to all.

Robert Nozick

Libertarian

Justice is entitlement

The Veil of Ignorance and the Maximin

Principle
Gain

C1

C2

C3

D1

-700

800

1,200

D2

-800

700

1,400

D3

500

600

800

The Problem of Beckhams Millions

Objection

Response