The Normative Standing of Economic Inequalities

Samenvatting

A rebuttal to arguments advanced in three empirical studies claiming that what people find fair, just, or legitimate in regard to the distribution of economic rewards is largely a reflection of the actual distribution of such rewards (see SA 24:1/76H7487, 26:1/78J0224, & 29:4/81L7012). According to these studies, people's assessments of the normative acceptability of income inequalities are guided by the principle that those who contribute more deserve higher income. Three implicit ideas in this principle are: (1) the relative contributions of different jobs can be accurately determined; (2) differential incomes are a function of people's differential contributions; & (3) there is satisfactory justification for the element of merit in the (presumed) relation between contributions & income received. It is shown that there is no real empirical support for (1) or (2), while conceptual analysis reveals no justification for (3). Thus, the general principle guiding people's assessments of the normative acceptability of income inequalities is incorrect, based on ignorance of the nonfactual status of the underlying assumptions of this principle. HA.