Meeting basic needs : reciprocity in distributive justice / Micah Elazar.

Format:

Book

Manuscript

Microformat

Thesis/Dissertation

Author/Creator:

Elazar, Micah.

Contributor:

Freeman, Samuel, advisor.

University of Pennsylvania.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Penn dissertations--Philosophy.

Philosophy--Penn dissertations.

Local Subjects:

Penn dissertations--Philosophy.

Philosophy--Penn dissertations.

Physical Description:

vi, 215 pages ; 29 cm

Production:

2003.

Summary:

Theories of distributive justice provide competing accounts of what constitutes an appropriate basis for arranging wealth in a society. Such theories often share a common analytical structure: they presuppose the moral primacy of one value over others, and advocate a distribution that instantiates this value. This dissertation scrutinizes the relative moral significance of the various central values---liberty, desert, responsibility, equality, and reciprocity---that underlie the most prominent contemporary theories of distributive justice. It argues that the most compelling justification for wealth redistribution rests in an often-neglected concern: the importance of meeting basic human needs and alleviating the forms of hardship that the needy endure. I characterize the basic needs as the requirements for a decent human life in which persons are able to occupy the fundamental social roles of worker, citizen, and member of family and society. This conception of basic needs is intended to provide a basis for public deliberation about social duties that is rooted in fact-specific and intuitively compelling moral considerations. I suggest that the various competing values in distributive justice are generally relevant to the assessment of social institutions, but that each is nevertheless susceptible to being overridden by the substantial interests that all persons have in need fulfillment, particularly when urgent needs are at stake. Ultimately, I advance two central theses. The Priority thesis holds that to respect persons a society sometimes is required to address their basic needs without particular regard for the extent to which persons are deserving or undeserving, responsible or irresponsible. The Reconciliation thesis holds that a society is required not merely to fulfill needs but to enable persons to become capable of meeting their own needs within the society's cooperative institutions. Thus, a society need not abandon the goals of responsibility and mutual cooperation, but rather may view responsible agency as the most appropriate route to need fulfillment.

Notes:

Adviser: Samuel Freeman.

Thesis (Ph.D. in Philosophy) -- University of Pennsylvania, 2003.

Includes bibliographical references.

Local Notes:

University Microfilms order no.: 3087394.

OCLC:

244972932