Are We Really All Equals?

Most of us hold the deep moral commitment that we are all equal in some basic way. All humans are worthy of equal (moral) concern, respect, and dignity. But is a commitment to basic equality enough to ground meaningful principles of justice?

Most of us hold the deep moral commitment that we are all equal in some basic way. All humans are worthy of equal (moral) concern, respect, and dignity.

Jeremy Waldron, a famous NYU philosopher, defends this principle of basic equality in his new book. This review of the book by the fabulous Amia Srinivasan challenges some of his core arguments in this entertaining and engaging article.

Is a commitment to basic equality enough to ground meaningful principles of justice? If we were looking for some quality possessed by all humans to justify basic equality, how can we avoid excluding the disabled from our realm of moral concern? What would justify excluding animals as well?

It’s a long but spectacular read: 

http://www.nybooks.com/articles/2018/04/19/jeremy-waldron-more-equal-than-others/