Intra-Family Inequality and Justice

TY - JOUR

T1 - Intra-Family Inequality and Justice

AU - Landes, Xavier

AU - Nielsen, Morten Ebbe Juul

PY - 2012

Y1 - 2012

N2 - In “The Pecking Order,” Dalton Conley argues that inequalities between siblings are larger than inequalities at the level of the overall society. Our article discusses the normative implications for institutions of this observation. We show that the question of state intervention for curbing intra-family inequality reveals an internal tension within liberalism between autonomy and toleration, which bears on the forms that the intervention of institutions may take. Despite the pros and cons of both commitments, autonomy-based liberalism appears more compatible with the involvement of the state for egalitarian reasons within the family than toleration-based liberalism.

AB - In “The Pecking Order,” Dalton Conley argues that inequalities between siblings are larger than inequalities at the level of the overall society. Our article discusses the normative implications for institutions of this observation. We show that the question of state intervention for curbing intra-family inequality reveals an internal tension within liberalism between autonomy and toleration, which bears on the forms that the intervention of institutions may take. Despite the pros and cons of both commitments, autonomy-based liberalism appears more compatible with the involvement of the state for egalitarian reasons within the family than toleration-based liberalism.

U2 - 10.1017/s0012217312000698

DO - 10.1017/s0012217312000698

M3 - Journal article

SN - 0012-2173

VL - Vol. 51

SP - 437

EP - 466

JO - Dialogue: Canadian Philosophical Review / Revue canadienne de philosophie

JF - Dialogue: Canadian Philosophical Review / Revue canadienne de philosophie

IS - 3

ER -