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Gender, Social Justice, an Publicity
Casal, Paula
2021
Abstract
Suppose that the basic structures of two societies conform to Rawls’s principles of justice. One of these societies, however, includes—in addition to a just basic structure—an egalitarian ethos that further reduces inequalities that do not benefit the least advantaged. G. A. Cohen and others have argued that the second society is more just, thus rejecting any restriction of Rawls’s principles of justice to the basic structure. Andrew Williams has revived the basic structure restriction in the form of a publicity requirement. This paper highlights various problems with this attempt. In addition, it shows that an egalitarian ethos admits various plausible reformulations that could meet Williams’s publicity requirements. This only amounts to a partial victory for Cohen, however. In fact, the Rawlsian position could come out of this discussion strengthened, not because it can resist the egalitarian critique, but because it can incorporate its essence in the form of a set of more precise and specific public rules.
Publisher
EUT Edizioni Università di Trieste
Source
Paula Casal, "Gender, Social Justice, an Publicity" in: "Etica & Politica / Ethics & Politics (2021) XXIII/3", EUT Edizioni Università di Trieste, Trieste, 2021, pp. 171-186
Languages
en
Rights
Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 Internazionale
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