Abstract
The conflict between efficiency and equity discussed in the previous chapter is often diagnosed as reflecting poorly on egalitarianism as insisting on the virtues of a ‘level’ playing field, even if the ‘levelling’ is to be done by simply dragging down those who are better off to the level of those who are worse off. The appeal of the ‘levelling down’ argument against egalitarianism is located in a particular reading of the unexceptionableness of the Pareto principle of efficiency, and a particular reading of the requirements of egalitarianism. Both readings are subjected to critical scrutiny in this chapter.
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© 2019 The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd.
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Subramanian, S. (2019). Equality, Efficiency, and ‘Levelling Down’. In: Inequality and Poverty. SpringerBriefs in Economics. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-8185-0_9
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-8185-0_9
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