The role of welfare in an egalitarian metric

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dc.contributor.authorNicholas, Jeffrey Lynnen
dc.contributor.departmentPhilosophyen
dc.date.accessioned2014-03-14T21:38:00Zen
dc.date.adate2009-06-11en
dc.date.available2014-03-14T21:38:00Zen
dc.date.issued1995en
dc.date.rdate2009-06-11en
dc.date.sdate2009-06-11en
dc.description.abstractI argue that welfare considerations should play an important role in egalitarian thought. Ronald Dworkin, in contrast, has argued that welfare should play no role in a principle of equality of distribution. I explore his discussion of this issue, finding that many of his arguments presuppose the truth of his alternative account, which focuses on resources rather than welfare. His remaining arguments rely on the counter-intuitive nature of compensating for expensive tastes. I argue that if we examine this case more carefully, it is not as counter-intuitive as it first appears. Having replied to his objections to the welfare account, I turn to his positive argument for the principle of equality of resources, namely, that it is the only principle which respects the equal worth of persons. I explore several examples to demonstrate that pure welfare deficiencies merit compensation. These examples suggest, I argue, that respecting the equal worth of persons requires us to consider welfare in a principle of equality of distribution. Finally, I argue that if we should compensate for welfare deficiencies, we should also compensate for expensive tastes; indeed, considerations of equal worth require this compensation.en
dc.description.degreeMaster of Artsen
dc.format.extentv, 51 leavesen
dc.format.mediumBTDen
dc.format.mimetypeapplication/pdfen
dc.identifier.otheretd-06112009-063618en
dc.identifier.sourceurlhttp://scholar.lib.vt.edu/theses/available/etd-06112009-063618/en
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/10919/43174en
dc.language.isoenen
dc.publisherVirginia Techen
dc.relation.haspartLD5655.V855_1995.N534.pdfen
dc.relation.isformatofOCLC# 34271670en
dc.rightsIn Copyrighten
dc.rights.urihttp://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/en
dc.subjectRonald Dworkinen
dc.subjectG.A. Cohenen
dc.subjectresourcesen
dc.subjectliberalismen
dc.subject.lccLD5655.V855 1995.N534en
dc.titleThe role of welfare in an egalitarian metricen
dc.typeThesisen
dc.type.dcmitypeTexten
thesis.degree.disciplinePhilosophyen
thesis.degree.grantorVirginia Polytechnic Institute and State Universityen
thesis.degree.levelmastersen
thesis.degree.nameMaster of Artsen

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