Published in:
Journal of Social Philosophy, Volum 44.(4) pages. 348-369.
Abstract:
We explore a problem faced by resourcist theories of wellbeing (e.g., objective list theories) and by resourcist theories of advantage (e.g., the primary goods approach) for distributive justice. Resourcist theories of each kind impose a standard interpersonal resource dominance condition: more of some relevant resources, and less of none, is always better. That condition, however, generates problems when combined with the weak requirement that the wellbeing, or advantage, generated by a Resource bundle can vary between individuals. We explore the significance of this problem and some ways to avoid it. Although we do not focus exclusively on egalitarian theories of justice, our discussion has immediate implications for the “equality of what” debate.