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Document Details : Title: Republican Limitarianism and Sufficientarianism Subtitle: A Proposal for Attaining Freedom as Non-Domination Author(s): DUMITRU, Adelin-Costin Journal: Ethical Perspectives Volume: 27 Issue: 4 Date: 2020 Pages: 375-404 DOI: 10.2143/EP.27.4.3289451 Abstract : The present article explores the relationship between sufficientarianism, limitarianism and republicanism. In order to illustrate that relationship, I make three distinct, yet interconnected claims: that republicanism needs a conception of distributive justice, which should be a sufficientarian one; that limitarianism and sufficientarianism complement each other in order to make up a fully-fledged theory of justice; and that republicanism and limitarianism draw from each other in order to correct some of the issues that they would run into in non-ideal settings. In regard to the last claim, I try to defend the argument that freedom as non-domination can be instantiated in contemporary societies by setting upper limits to individuals’ wealth. However, implementing limitarianism sans republican policies could – in our non-ideal societies – lead to taxing more than just surplus money, a consequence of phenomena such as availability cascades, populism, group polarization or the outrage dynamic. Thus, we have compelling reasons to introduce a new justification for limitarianism, based on the value of freedom as non-domination. The result is what I call republican limitarianism. |
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