Luck, risk and the market

Lazenby, H. (2014) Luck, risk and the market. Ethical Theory and Moral Practice, 17(4), pp. 667-680. (doi: 10.1007/s10677-013-9454-z)

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Publisher's URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10677-013-9454-z

Abstract

his paper explores how luck egalitarianism fares in capturing our intuitions about the fairness of market-generated outcomes. Critics of luck egalitarianism have argued that it places no restrictions on what outcomes are acceptable, at least when all agents are equally situated before entering the market, and that this gives us a reason to reject it as an account of fairness. I will argue that luck egalitarianism does make specific judgements about which market-generated outcomes are compatible with maintaining a fair distribution. In addition, I will argue that luck egalitarian prescriptions accord with our pre-theoretical intuitions about the (un)fairness of certain market-generated outcomes. Securing these points both speaks in favour of luck egalitarianism as an ethical principle and provides a framework within which to analyze the fairness of practical, real world cases.

Item Type:Articles
Status:Published
Refereed:Yes
Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID:Lazenby, Dr Hugh
Authors: Lazenby, H.
College/School:College of Arts & Humanities > School of Humanities > Philosophy
Journal Name:Ethical Theory and Moral Practice
Publisher:Springer
ISSN:1386-2820
ISSN (Online):1572-8447

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