Democracy, Equaliy & Justice

DEMOCRACY, EQUALITY AND JUSTICE
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AN ENQUIRY CONCERNING THOMAS CHRISTIANO’S ARGUMENT ON EQUALITY





KARIM JEBARI














INTRODUCTION

CHAPTER ONE- CHRISTIANO’S EGALITARIAN ARGUMENT
1.1 Definitions
1.2 A closer examination on the premises of the Egalitarian Argument
1.3 Collective Properties
1.3.1 Non-exclusivity
1.3.2 Publicity & Inevitability

CHAPTER TWO- EQUALITY OF RESOURCES
2.1 Two theories of the good
2.2 Christiano’s three epistemic arguments
2.3 An outline of my argument

CHAPTER THREE- EQUALITY OF WHAT?
3.1 What is equality of welfare?
3.2 Cohen’s refutation of equality of welfare and of equality of resources
3.3 Cohen’s straw man
3.4 A reconsideration of the argument
3.5 An outline of my argument

CHAPTER FOUR- JUSTICE AND URGENCY
4.1 Conceptions of Justice
4.2 Four interests of special importance
4.3 Relative urgency of interests
4.4 An outline of my argument

CHAPTER FIVE- CONCLUSION
5.1 Concluding remarks
5.2 Summary
5.3 Bibliography

INTRODUCTION

There are few concepts in contemporary philosophical debate that gather so much common agreement as the Principle of Equality. From utilitarians to Kantians, moral philosophers declare that each ones interest ought to be equally considered. This principle will be referred to as the Principle of Equality (Dworkin 1977: 179-83, Kymlicka 1990: 12).  

Thomas Christiano has in various articles and in his brilliant book The Rule of the Many (Westview Press 1996)   defended the view that an acceptance of the democratic ideal follows from the acceptance of the Principle of Equality. If his claim is correct, he has managed to defend democracy where others have failed. The aim of this thesis is to critically analyze this claim.

Since ancient Greece, some of the most powerful arguments against democracy have gained strength from the notion that there are good and bad decisions to be made in politics, and... [continues]

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