Fairness versus welfare / Louis Kaplow, Steven Shavell.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Kaplow, Louis.

Contributor:

Shavell, Steven, 1946-

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Ethics.

Fairness.

Justice.

Law and economics.

Social policy.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (xxii, 544 p.)

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Cambridge, Mass. ; London : Harvard University Press, 2006.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

By what criteria should public policy be evaluated? This study poses a bold challenge to contemporary moral philosophy by showing that most moral principles conflict more sharply with welfare than is generally recognised.

By what criteria should public policy be evaluated? Fairness and justice? Or the welfare of individuals? Debate over this fundamental question has spanned the ages. Fairness versus Welfare poses a bold challenge to contemporary moral philosophy by showing that most moral principles conflict more sharply with welfare than is generally recognized. In particular, the authors demonstrate that all principles that are not based exclusively on welfare will sometimes favor policies under which literally everyone would be worse off. The book draws on the work of moral philosophers, economists, evolutionary and cognitive psychologists, and legal academics to scrutinize a number of particular subjects that have engaged legal scholars and moral philosophers. How can the deeply problematic nature of all nonwelfarist principles be reconciled with our moral instincts and intuitions that support them? The authors offer a fascinating explanation of the origins of our moral instincts and intuitions, developing ideas originally advanced by Hume and Sidgwick and more recently explored by psychologists and evolutionary theorists. Their analysis indicates that most moral principles that seem appealing, upon examination, have a functional explanation, one that does not justify their being accorded independent weight in the assessment of public policy. Fairness versus Welfare has profound implications for the theory and practice of policy analysis and has already generated considerable debate in academia.

Contents:

Frontmatter

SUMMARY OF CONTENTS

CONTENTS

Prologue

Acknowledgments

PART ONE. FRAMEWORK

I. Introduction

II. Welfare Economics and Notions of Fairness

PART TWO. ANALYSIS

III. Torts

IV. Contracts

V. Legal Procedure

VI. Law Enforcement

PART THREE. EXTENSIONS

VII. On the Use of Notions of Fairness and Welfare Economics by Different Types of Actors

VIII. Comments on the Breadth and Soundness of Welfare Economics

IX. Conclusion

References

Index

Notes:

Originally published: 2002.

ISBN:

9780674039315

0674039319

OCLC:

923111433