Work

Fairness and risk attitudes

Year: 2023

Type: article

Abstract: According to a common judgement, a social planner should often use a lottery to decide which of two people should receive a good. This judgement undermines one of the best-known arguments for utilitarianism, due to John C. Harsanyi, and more generally undermines axiomatic arguments for utilitarianism and similar views. In this paper we ask which combinations of views about (a) the social planner’s attitude to risk and inequality, and (b) the subjects’ attitudes to risk are consistent with the aforementioned judgement. We find that the class of combinations of views that can plausibly accommodate this judgement is quite limited. But one theory does better than others: the theory of chance-sensitive utility.

Source: Philosophical Studies

DOI: 10.1007/s11098-023-02025-2

Authors: Richard Bradley, H. Orri Stefánsson

Institutions: London School of Economics and Political Science, Stockholm University, Swedish Collegium for Advanced Study, Institute for Futures Studies

Language: English

Topic: Political Philosophy and Ethics

Subfield: Political Science and International Relations

Field: Social Sciences

Domain: Social Sciences

Open Access status: hybrid

Estimated APC paid: $2,890

Funders: Riksbankens Jubileumsfond, Stockholms Universitet