The ‘Justice’ That Overrules the Rules of Justice

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Date
2009Author
de Jasay, Anthony
Quotable link
http://dx.doi.org/10.22029/jlupub-351Abstract
Justice is intrinsically distributive; it distributes by its rules. `Distributive' or `social' justice redistributes by overruling them. It has theories that do not start `from here'. It has no rules; it makes claims instead. Both its names are fraudulent aliases, `social' perhaps less blatantly so. Satisfaction of a claim in `social' justice depends on politics and tends to favour the poorer half of society. This commands general sympathy, but sympathy does not make it any less unjust.
Original publication in
Rationality, markets, and morals: RMM 0 (2009), 267-271