Distributive Justice and Utilitarianism

Abstract

One of the most influential moral, political, and economic doctrines in the recent history of Western liberal philosophy is the ethical principle of utilitarianism. The present chapter explains how utilitarianism has come to be associated with promoting the quest for equality. Employing the work of Amartya Sen, it also argues that the association is a misplaced one, which perhaps applies only to ‘homogeneous’ populations and so leaves the important question of ‘heterogeneity’ out of the question.