Distributive Justice Lecture 3: Welfarism 2
Distributive Justice
Lecture 3: Welfarism 2
Hilde Bojer
www.folk.uio.no/hbojer
[email protected]
January 31, 2013
Distributive Justice Lecture 3: Welfarism 2
Ethical properties of utilitarianism
The utilitarian social welfare function
Why utilitarianism?
General social welfare function
Economics and utilitarianism
Economics and welfarism
Distributive Justice Lecture 3: Welfarism 2
Ethical properties of utilitarianism
Ethical properties of utilitarianism
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1. Ethical equality
2. Ethical individualism
3. Humanism
4. Respect for preferences
5. Consequentialism
Distributive Justice Lecture 3: Welfarism 2
Ethical properties of utilitarianism
Ethical properties of utilitarianism cont
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Comments:
1. Ethical equality: All individuals count equally
2. Ethical individualism
I
No group rights (or wrongs)
I
No common good
alternative: Communitarianism
Distributive Justice Lecture 3: Welfarism 2
Ethical properties of utilitarianism
Ethical individualism
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Does not imply that utilitarianism excludes
public goods
definition of public goods?
individual goods?
Public goods:
e.g. Environment
Defence
Public transportation
etc etc
The environment is relevant to the extent that it
affects the welfare of one or more individuals
As are other public goods
Distributive Justice Lecture 3: Welfarism 2
Ethical properties of utilitarianism
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3. Humanism
Or anthropocentrism
It is HUMAN welfare that counts
Animals and nature
to the extent that they affect the welfare of individual humans
Not all utilitarians will agree
Is it possible to include the welfare of animals in total welfare?
Distributive Justice Lecture 3: Welfarism 2
Ethical properties of utilitarianism
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4. Respect for preferences
All preferences?
Children? Animals?
Distributive Justice Lecture 3: Welfarism 2
Ethical properties of utilitarianism
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Distinguished utilitarian: John Harsanyi:
Anti-social preferences should not be included
But how do we decide which preferences to respect and which to
ignore?
And who decides?
Distributive Justice Lecture 3: Welfarism 2
Ethical properties of utilitarianism
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5. Consequentialism
Consequential justice
If the result (consequence) is just, the act is just
Opposite to procedural justice
(deontological ethics)
The result is just if and only if the procedure is just
Not always a clear distinction:
Rule utilitarianism
Act utilitarianism
Which preferences should decide on the rules?
(If society shapes preferences)
Distributive Justice Lecture 3: Welfarism 2
Ethical properties of utilitarianism
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Telling lies??
Distributive Justice Lecture 3: Welfarism 2
Ethical properties of utilitarianism
The social welfare function
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Represents an ordering or ranking of the states of society
expressed mathematically as a real function
i.e as a number
the higher the number, the better the state.
Is always derived from the individual utilities
Distributive Justice Lecture 3: Welfarism 2
The utilitarian social welfare function
The utilitarian social welfare function
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Distributive Justice Lecture 3: Welfarism 2
The utilitarian social welfare function
Properties of utilitarian SWF
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Pareto principle
If one person is better off without someone else being worse off,
social welfare always increases
the state of society is better
Inequality neutral
For a given sum of utilities, all distributions are equally good
Social welfare can only increase by more utility, never by
redistribution of UTILITY
BUT: sum of utilities can increase by redistribution of INCOME
if marginal utilities unequal
Distributive Justice Lecture 3: Welfarism 2
Why utilitarianism?
Why utilitarianism?
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Rational choice from behind a
veil of uncertainty
(Harsanyi)
Consistent with general theory for choice under uncertainty
Maximising expected utility is the same
as maximising average utility
(If interested, please see appendix in Bojer)
Distributive Justice Lecture 3: Welfarism 2
General social welfare function
General social welfare function
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Distributive Justice Lecture 3: Welfarism 2
General social welfare function
Properties of a general SWF
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Pareto principle –as before
Inequality aversion
For a given sum of utilities, social welfare increases by equalising
redistribution
An equalising transfer increases social welfare
Equalising transfer: transferring one unit of utility for a person
with higher to a person with lower utility
(by means of transferring income)
Mathematical property: symmetrical
Also called Bergson-Samuelson social welfare function
Distributive Justice Lecture 3: Welfarism 2
General social welfare function
Why B-S social welfare function?
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Good question
Was introduced as an instrument for describing all possible
opinions of just distribution
In general: not necessarily symmetrical
But represents only all possible welfarist just distributions
Arrows possibility theorem:
A SWF cannot be the result of fair voting procedures
for all possible preferences
Does not imply that reaching a SWF is never possible
Distributive Justice Lecture 3: Welfarism 2
Economics and utilitarianism
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Difference between utilitarianism and
economic welfare theory?
1. Utilitarianism is a philosophical system of ethics:
individual and social
Economic welfare theory analyses allocation of resources
and distribution of income
taking the moral and legal framework as given
2. possible inequality averse SWF
Distributive Justice Lecture 3: Welfarism 2
Economics and utilitarianism
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Common to both:
Individual welfare (utility) as the final, and only, good of society
Hence the term: welfarism
Distributive Justice Lecture 3: Welfarism 2
Economics and welfarism
Economics and welfarism
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Normative economics:
Optimal allocation (use) of resources
Cost benefit analysis
Takes the framework of laws and ethical norms as given
Based on the Pareto principle
Identical preferences (The representative consumer)
Distributional analysis: more of a problem