Over the last twenty years, many political philosophers have rejected the idea that justice is fundamentally about distribution. Rather, justice is about social relations, and the so-called distributive paradigm should be replaced by a new relational paradigm. Kasper Lippert-Rasmussen seeks to describe, refine, and assess these thoughts and to propose a comprehensive form of egalitarianism which includes central elements from both relational and distributive paradigms. He shows why many of the challenges that luck egalitarianism faces reappear, once we try to specify relational egalitarianism more fully. His discussion advances understanding of the nature of the relational ideal, and introduces new conceptual tools for understanding it and for exploring the important question of why it is desirable in the first place to relate as equals. Even severe critics of the distributive understanding of justice will find that this book casts important new light on the ideal to which they subscribe.

Explores the nature of the ideal of relational equality and how it relates to distributive ideals of justice.

About the Author
Kasper Lippert-Rasmussen is Professor of Political Theory at Aarhus Universitet, Denmark, and Professor II in Philosophy at the University of Tromso. His books include Born Free and Equal? (2013) and Luck Egalitarianism (2015).


Book Information
ISBN 9781107158900
Author Kasper Lippert-Rasmussen
Format Hardback
Page Count 264
Imprint Cambridge University Press
Publisher Cambridge University Press
Weight(grams) 500g
Dimensions(mm) 235mm * 156mm * 17mm