Egalitarianism and the levelling down objection

Mason, Andrew (2001) Egalitarianism and the levelling down objection. Analysis, 61 (271), 246-254. (doi:10.1111/1467-8284.00302).

Abstract

In an important piece of work Derek Parfit distinguishes two different forms of egalitarianism, 'Deontic' and 'Telic' (Parfit 1995; see also Parfit 1997). He contrasts these with what he calls the Priority View, which is not strictly a form of egalitarianism at all, since it is not essentially concerned with how well off people are relative to each other. His main aim is to generate an adequate taxonomy of the positions available, but in the process he draws attention to some of the different problems they face. I shall argue that there are forms of egalitarianism overlooked by Parfit which avoid the problems encountered by Deontic and Telic Egalitarians.

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