IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eme/ijsepp/v39y2012i8p612-623.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The economics of Rawlsian justice: can it be neoclassical?

Author

Listed:
  • Wylie Bradford

Abstract

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to explore the compatibility of Rawls's account of justice with neoclassical economic theory, upon which Rawls relies strongly. Design/methodology/approach - This question is approached via a comparison of the implicit account of society and social relations adopted in Rawl's work with that that can be perceived to underly neoclassical economic theory. The purpose of this comparison is to assess how compatible these social visions are. Findings - It is argued that neoclassical economic theory presupposes a social structure and a social reality that is radically less cooperative than that which underpins Rawls's theory of justice. Rawls presupposes a world in which cooperation is necessary – a specialised world – whereas the equilibrium requirements of neoclassical theory run into severe technical difficulties in such a context, with the result that they are assumed away via a series of theoretical contrivances, along with the role for cooperation that is central to Rawls's theory. Research limitations/implications - The paper illustrates clearly the pitfalls associated with uncritical reliance in one discipline on theoretical frameworks imported from another. Where there is debate concerning the fundamental bases of theory, a form of sensitivity analysis must be performed to ensure that the final argument does not demand too much of, or become excessively tied to, the imported framework. Originality/value - The paper provides the beginnings of such a sensitivity analysis on the Rawlsian project and its relationship to economic theory, and shows that the field is open for a reconstitution of the liberal theory of justice on grounds other than its traditional ally, the exchange paradigm as represented by neoclassical theory.

Suggested Citation

  • Wylie Bradford, 2012. "The economics of Rawlsian justice: can it be neoclassical?," International Journal of Social Economics, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 39(8), pages 612-623, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:eme:ijsepp:v:39:y:2012:i:8:p:612-623
    DOI: 10.1108/03068291211238455
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/03068291211238455/full/html?utm_source=repec&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=repec
    Download Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers
    File URL: https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/03068291211238455/full/pdf?utm_source=repec&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=repec
    Download Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1108/03068291211238455?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Bliss, C. J., 1975. "Capital Theory and the Distribution of Income," Elsevier Monographs, Elsevier, edition 1, number 9780720436044 edited by Bliss, C. J..
    2. Amartya Sen, 1981. "Ingredients of Famine Analysis: Availability and Entitlements," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 96(3), pages 433-464.
    3. S. Aburizvi Turab, 1991. "Specialisation And The Existence Problem In General Equilibrium Theory," Contributions to Political Economy, Oxford University Press, vol. 10(1), pages 1-20.
    4. Sen, Amartya K, 1977. "Starvation and Exchange Entitlements: A General Approach and Its Application to the Great Bengal Famine," Cambridge Journal of Economics, Cambridge Political Economy Society, vol. 1(1), pages 33-59, March.
    5. Whitaker, Albert Conser, 1904. "History and Criticism of the Labor Theory of Value in English Political Economy," History of Economic Thought Books, McMaster University Archive for the History of Economic Thought, number whitaker1904.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Hashimzade, Nigar & Majumdar, Mukul, 2002. "Survival under Uncertainty in an Exchange Economy," Working Papers 02-12, Cornell University, Center for Analytic Economics.
    2. Dravie Christophe & Mahieu Régis & Requier-Desjardins Denis, 1985. "A. K. Sen, Poverty and famines : an essay on entitlement and deprivation," Revue Tiers Monde, Programme National Persée, vol. 26(104), pages 932-943.
    3. Elahi, Khandakar Qudrat-I, 2018. "Amartya Sen, Fad And The 1974 Famine In Bangladesh: A Closer Look," Bangladesh Journal of Agricultural Economics, Bangladesh Agricultural University, vol. 38(1-2), September.
    4. Chaigneau, Tomas & Brown, Katrina & Coulthard, Sarah & Daw, Tim M. & Szaboova, Lucy, 2019. "Money, use and experience: Identifying the mechanisms through which ecosystem services contribute to wellbeing in coastal Kenya and Mozambique," Ecosystem Services, Elsevier, vol. 38(C), pages 1-1.
    5. W D A Bryant, 2009. "General Equilibrium:Theory and Evidence," World Scientific Books, World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., number 6875, January.
    6. Vivian Walsh, 2000. "Smith After Sen," Review of Political Economy, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 12(1), pages 5-25.
    7. Paul Oslington, 2012. "General Equilibrium: Theory and Evidence," The Economic Record, The Economic Society of Australia, vol. 88(282), pages 446-448, September.
    8. Steven Pressman & Gale Summerfield, 2000. "The Economic Contributions of Amartya Sen," Review of Political Economy, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 12(1), pages 89-113.
    9. Santiago-Caballero, Carlos, 2010. "Amartya Sen revisited : trade, inequality and growth in central Spain, 1700-1800," IFCS - Working Papers in Economic History.WH wp10-04, Universidad Carlos III de Madrid. Instituto Figuerola.
    10. Bowbrick, Peter, 2020. "Toxic famine research and how it suppresses its critics," MPRA Paper 101970, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    11. Molini, Vasco & Keyzer, Michiel A. & van den Boom, Bart & Zant, Wouter, 2007. "Creating safety nets through semi-parametric index-based insurance: A simulation for Northern Ghana," 101st Seminar, July 5-6, 2007, Berlin Germany 9263, European Association of Agricultural Economists.
    12. Carolin Kroeger, 2023. "Heat is associated with short-term increases in household food insecurity in 150 countries and this is mediated by income," Nature Human Behaviour, Nature, vol. 7(10), pages 1777-1786, October.
    13. Eric B. Schneider & Kota Ogasawara & Tim J. Cole, 2021. "Health Shocks, Recovery, and the First Thousand Days: The Effect of the Second World War on Height Growth in Japanese Children," Population and Development Review, The Population Council, Inc., vol. 47(4), pages 1075-1105, December.
    14. Van Landeghem, Bert & Vandeplas, Anneleen, 2018. "The relationship between status and happiness: Evidence from the caste system in rural India," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics (formerly The Journal of Socio-Economics), Elsevier, vol. 77(C), pages 62-71.
    15. Lengwiler, Yvan, 1998. "Endogenous endowments and equilibrium starvation in a Walrasian economy," Journal of Mathematical Economics, Elsevier, vol. 30(1), pages 37-58, August.
    16. Kumar, Rishabh, 2019. "The evolution of wealth-income ratios in India 1860-2012," SocArXiv sj6h2, Center for Open Science.
    17. Amitava Krishna Dutt, 1989. "Sectoral Balance: A Survey," WIDER Working Paper Series wp-1989-056, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    18. Berg Claudia & Emran M. Shahe, 2020. "Microfinance and Vulnerability to Seasonal Famine in a Rural Economy: Evidence from Monga in Bangladesh," The B.E. Journal of Economic Analysis & Policy, De Gruyter, vol. 20(3), pages 1-36, July.
    19. Peter Skott, 2011. "Heterodox macro after the crisis," UMASS Amherst Economics Working Papers 2011-23, University of Massachusetts Amherst, Department of Economics.
    20. Simon Mohun, 1999. "Markets, Money and Ideology," Working Papers 402, Queen Mary University of London, School of Economics and Finance.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eme:ijsepp:v:39:y:2012:i:8:p:612-623. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Emerald Support (email available below). General contact details of provider: .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.