Addressing Inequality

Abstract

Abstract This chapter discusses Scanlon’s objections to inequality and how it can be unfair and enable concerning forms of domination. It discusses the importance of the false evaluative belief held by many people that the social world should be structured by status distinctions. In line with Rawls’s analysis, it argues that domination can arise from selfish motives but can also be a defensive response to (the anticipation of) social anxiety. It introduces the distinction between weak and strong egalitarianism in relation to these worries about the ways in which inequality can produce domination.

Topics & Concepts