The Concept of Justice and Equality: On the Dispute between John Rawls and Gerald Cohen

Contents
Introduction
The Role of Political Philosophy
The Question of Justice
The Approaches to Justice
The Relationship between Justice and Equality
The Principles of Distributive Justice
The Cohenian Critique of the Difference Principle
Is the Cohenian Critique Justified?
1 The Rawlsian Theory of Justice
	1.1 Justice as Fairness
	1.2 A Fair System of Cooperation
	1.3 Free and Equal Citizens
	1.4 The Basic Structure of a Well-Ordered Society
	1.5 The Original Position
	1.6 The Principles of Justice
		1.6.1 The First Principle of Justice
		1.6.2 Justifying the Principles of Justice
2 A Meta-Ethical Theory: Cohen’s Idea of Justice
	2.1 Cohen’s Thesis
	2.2 The Argument
	2.3 The Defenses
	2.4 The Requirements
	2.5 Challenges, Critiques and Replies
	2.6 Pogge’s Critique of the Cohenian Meta-Ethical Method
3 A Meta-Ethical Theory: Cohen’s Rescue of Justice
	3.1 Rescue of Justice from Constructivism
	3.2 Weak and Strong Defenses
	3.3 Illustrations
	3.4 What is not Justice?
	3.5 Objections and Replies
	3.6 Justice Is Not the First Virtue of Social Institutions
	3.7 The Justification of the Two Principles Is Not Contractarian
4 The Difference Principle
	4.1 The Rawlsian General Conception of Justice
	4.2 Justice as Fairness: The Second Principle of Justice
	4.3 Fair Equality of Opportunity
	4.4 The Interpretation of the Second Principle of Justice
		4.4.1 The System of Natural Aristocracy
		4.4.2 The System of Natural Liberty
		4.4.3 The Liberal Interpretation
		4.4.4 The Difference Principle within the Democratic Interpretation
	4.5 The Argument for the Second Principle of Justice
5 The Rescue of Equality from the Rawlsian Theory of Justice
	5.1 Cohen’s Critique of the Difference Principle
	5.2 Rescue of Equality from the Incentives Argument
	5.3 The Interpersonal Test
	5.4 Two Readings of the Difference Principle: Rawls’s Contradiction
	5.5 Rescue of Equality from the Pareto Argument
	5.6 Rescue of Equality from the Contradiction of the Difference Principle
	5.7 The Cohenian Conception of Justice
6 Scrutinizing the Cohenian Rescue of Equality
	6.1 The Cohenian Critique of the Incentives Argument
	6.2 Challenges to Cohen’s Critique of the Incentives Argument
		6.2.1 Need for a Psychology of Egalitarianism
		6.2.2 Legitimacy of Applying the Interpersonal Test
	6.3 Removing Inequalities: Just or Unjust?
	6.4 The Cohenian Critique of the Difference Principle
	6.5 Analysis of the Cohenian Critique of the Difference Principle
		6.5.1 Two Complementary Levels
		6.5.2 Justificatory Level: Equality
		6.5.3 Rule of Distribution: Equality
		6.5.4 Particular Distributions: Equality
	6.6 The Cohenian Rejection of the Difference Principle
	6.7 Examination of the Cohenian Rejection of the Difference Principle
	6.8 The Legitimacy of the Move from Moral Arbitrariness to Equality
7 The Cohenian Alternative
	7.1 The Rawlsian Move
	7.2 The Cohenian Illustration of the Move
	7.3 A Pareto-Improving Equality-Preserving Move
	7.4 Scrutinizing the Cohenian Alternative
	7.5 A Further Rescue of Equality: The Cohenian Reply to the Trilemma Objection
	7.6 The Rawlsian Challenge to the Cohenian Alternative
	7.7 The Rescue of Equality from the Basic Structure
	7.8 Pogge’s Defense of the Basic Structure
	7.9 Scheffler’s Defense of the Basic Structure
8 Disagreement on the Status of Principles
	8.1 Principles in the Rawlsian Understanding
	8.2 Principles in the Cohenian Understanding
	8.3 Focusing on Fundamental Principles
	8.4 Cohen versus Rawls
	8.5 The Thesis
		8.5.1 Theoretical Level
		8.5.2 Practical Level
	8.6 A Discussion of the Role of Facts
9 Disagreement on the Status of Facts
	9.1 Cohen’s Search for Justice: What Is Justice?
	9.2 The Cohenian Critique of the Rawlsian Constructivism
	9.3 Two Complementary Cohenian Theses
	9.4 Cohen’s Reply
	9.5 Cohen’s View: A Socratic-Platonic View
	9.6 Two Different Approaches
		9.6.1 Two Different Questions
		9.6.2 Terminology
	9.7 Rawls’s Question: “What Is a Just Social System?”
		9.7.1 A Factual Question
	9.8 The Meaning of Fairness
	9.9 The Autonomy of the Rawlsian Citizens
	9.10 Important Facts in Shaping a Just Social System
		9.10.1 Facts about the Human Condition
		9.10.2 Facts about Human Nature
		9.10.3 Facts about the Political System
		9.10.4 Available Facts in the Original Position
		9.10.5 The Role of the Facts in the Stability of Justice as Fairness
10 Different Understandings of Justice
	10.1 Different Treatments of Justice
	10.2 Different Conceptions of Society
		10.2.1 The Liberal Democratic Society
		10.2.2 The Cohenian Community
	10.3 Different Moral Feelings
		10.3.1 The Rawlsian Sense of Justice
		10.3.2 The Rawlsian Ethos of Justice
		10.3.3 The Cohenian Egalitarian Ethos
	10.4 The Role of Education
		10.4.1 In the Rawlsian Conception of Justice
		10.4.2 In the Cohenian Conception of Justice
	10.5 Different Approaches to Social Justice
		10.5.1 The Rawlsian Constructivist Approach
		10.5.2 The Cohenian Conceptual Approach
	10.6 Different Conceptions of Justice
		10.6.1 Fundamental Principles of Justice
		10.6.2 Rules of Regulation
		10.6.3 Justice as Fairness
		10.6.4 An Egalitarian Conception of Justice
	10.7 Different Principles of Distributive Justice
	10.8 The Cohenian Ethos for Personal Justice
Conclusion
References
Author Index
Subject Index