Distributive Justice and Access to Advantage: G. A. Cohen's Egalitarianism

Description

G. A. Cohen was one of the world's leading political theorists. He was noted, in particular, for his contributions to the literature of egalitarian justice. Cohen's classic writings offer one of the most influential responses to the currency of the egalitarian justice question - the question, that is, of whether egalitarians should seek to equalize welfare, resources, opportunity, or some other indicator of well-being. Underlying Cohen's argument is the intuition that the purpose of egalitarianism is to eliminate disadvantage for which it is inappropriate to hold the person responsible. His argument therefore focuses on the appropriate role of considerations regarding responsibility in egalitarian judgment. This volume comprises chapters by major scholars addressing and responding both to Cohen's account of the currency of egalitarian justice and its practical implications and to Cohen's arguments regarding the appropriate form of justificatory arguments about justice.

Alexander Kaufman is Associate Professor of Political Science at the University of Georgia, where he has taught political theory since 2000. His research and teaching interests include distributive justice, theories of equality, social contract theory, German idealism, philosophy of law, constitutional law, and the theory of the welfare state.

'G. A. Cohen would have enjoyed this superb volume immensely, regardless of the fact that many of the contributors take him to task. The chapters exhibit the seriousness of purpose and quality of argument that characterized his own work.' Jon Elster, Robert K. Merton Professor of the Social Sciences, Columbia University 'G. A. Cohen was one of the greatest political philosophers of the twentieth century. Here his ideas on what constitutes justice, his critique of John Rawls' view of justice, and his conception of socialism, are subjected to the penetrating analysis that they deserve by a fine group of philosophers, advancing our understanding of these most important questions.' John E. Roemer, Elizabeth S. and A. Varick Stout Professor of Political Science and Economics, Yale University