"Why the Worse off Matter More"
Abstract:
When determining how good a given state of affairs is, how good it is for the worse off matters more than how good it is for the better off. This is not because being worse off than one’s fellows is bad in itself. Nor is it because inequality is bad in itself. Nor still is it because the worse off are badly off in an absolute sense. Instead, it is because the overall good is more sensitive to the good of the relatively worse off than that of the relatively better off. At least, that is my view. The goal of this talk is to articulate it more precisely and offer a defense.