Responsibility, Luck, and the 'Equality of What?' Debate

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Abstract

Ronald Dworkin's recently published book, Sovereign Virtue (hereafter SV), appeals to arguments that are popular within, and ideas that are fundamental to, liberal egalitarianism. These arguments and ideas need to be distinguished and unpacked. The purpose of this paper is partly to do this and to cast doubt on the adequacy of various moves made by Dworkin. In addition, and more importantly I argue that the analysis of the 'equality of what?' debate reveals a tension at the heart of contemporary liberal egalitarianism between the Kantian aspiration to eliminate luck and the contemporary aspiration to do political philosophy without metaphysics.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)558-572
Number of pages15
JournalPolitical Studies
Volume50
Issue number3
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Aug 2002

Keywords

  • MORAL RESPONSIBILITY

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