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The evolution of fairness norms: an essay on Ken Binmore's Natural Justice

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  • Paul Seabright

    (University of Toulouse, France)

Abstract

This article sets out and comments on the arguments of Binmore's Natural Justice , and specifically on the empirical hypotheses that underpin his social contract view of the foundations of justice. It argues that Binmore's dependence on the hypothesis that individuals have purely self-regarding preferences forces him to claim that mutual monitoring of free-riding behavior was sufficiently reliable to enforce cooperation in hunter-gatherer societies, and that this makes it hard to explain why intuitions about justice could have evolved, since in such a society intuitions about justice would have had no adaptive advantage. I argue that it is empirically plausible that human beings display systematic other-regarding preferences (even if these are not always very strong). These could be incorporated into Binmore's general framework in a way that would enrich it and make it more useful for solving practical problems about justice.

Suggested Citation

  • Paul Seabright, 2006. "The evolution of fairness norms: an essay on Ken Binmore's Natural Justice," Politics, Philosophy & Economics, , vol. 5(1), pages 33-50, February.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:pophec:v:5:y:2006:i:1:p:33-50
    DOI: 10.1177/1470594X06060618
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    Cited by:

    1. Krieger-Boden, Christiane, 2013. "New ethics for economics?," Kiel Policy Brief 60, Kiel Institute for the World Economy (IfW Kiel).
    2. Cabrales, Antonio & Brañas, Pablo & Mateu, Guillermo & Sánchez, Anxo & Sutan, Angela, 2018. "Does pre-play social interaction improve negotiation outcomes?," CEPR Discussion Papers 13417, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    3. Dennis C. Mueller, 2006. "Democracy, Rationality and Morality," Papers on Economics and Evolution 2006-15, Philipps University Marburg, Department of Geography.
    4. Brañas-Garza, Pablo & Cabrales, Antonio & Mateu, Guillermo & Sánchez, Angel & Sutan, Angela, 2023. "Social interaction and negotiation outcomes: An experimental approach," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics (formerly The Journal of Socio-Economics), Elsevier, vol. 102(C).
    5. D.Ross, 2006. "Moral fictionalism, preference moralization and anti-conservatism: why metaethical error theory doesn't imply policy quietism," Papers on Economics and Evolution 2006-16, Philipps University Marburg, Department of Geography.

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