Justice, Institutions, and Luck The Site, Ground, and Scope of Equality [Hardcover]

Kok-Chor Tan addresses three key questions in egalitarian distributive justice:Wheredoes distributive equality matter?;Whydoes it matter?; And amongwhomdoes it matter? He argues for an institutional site for egalitarian justice, and suggests that the mitigation of arbitrariness or luck is the basis for distributive commitments. He also argues that distributive obligations are global in scope, applying between individuals across borders. Tan's objectives are tripartite: to clarify the basis of an institutional approach to justice; to establish luck egalitarianism as an account of the ground of equality; and to realize the global nature of egalitarian justice. The outcome is 'institutional luck egalitarianism'--a new cosmopolitan position on distributive justice.

Preface and Acknowledgements
1. Introduction
Part I. Institutions
2. Institutions and Justice
3. Evading the Demands of Justice
Part II. Luck
4. Luck Egalitarianism: A Modest Account
5. Defending Luck Egalitarianism
Part III. Global Justice
6. Global Institutions and Justice
7. The Arbitrariness of Nationality
8. Clarifications and Conclusions
Bibliography
Index

Tan's book is exceptionally clear, thoughtful, and innovative, and it should not be ignored by anyone interested in egalitarianism and distributive justice more generally. --Ethics

Kok-Chor Tanis Associate Professor of Philosophy at the University of Pennsylvania. His previous publications includeToleration, Diversity, and Global Justice(2000), andJustice Without Borders(2004). Previous appointments include a Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada Post-Doctoral Fellowship at Queen's University, Canada, and a Faculty Fellowship at The Safra Center for Ethics, Harvard University.