Graduation Year
2015
Date of Submission
4-2015
Document Type
Campus Only Senior Thesis
Degree Name
Bachelor of Arts
Department
Philosophy and Public Affairs
Reader 1
Alex Rajczi
Reader 2
Andrew Schroeder
Terms of Use & License Information
Rights Information
© 2015 Julian E. Mackie
Abstract
How would a housing system work in a just society? How do we account for differences in opportunity according to one’s birthplace? These two questions, both a result of our recent housing crisis, can be addressed through inquiries into policy, economics, history, or other forms of social sciences. In this paper I attempt to address these questions instead through a philosophical lens by examining the principles that guide the distribution of goods in our society. It is from such a theory that we can construct the fairest government or economic policies.
Theories of distributive justice try to account for the fairest distribution of goods in a society. I take one such theory, John Rawls’ theory of justice as fairness, and apply it to the distribution of housing. I begin by deconstructing the core principles of Rawls’ theory and analyzing how each applies to housing. Then I make an argument about the fairness of these outcomes. My conclusion is, in fact, Rawls theory does not adequately account for the importance of housing in our society. In doing so, I hope to demonstrate the inequalities that face families throughout our society by illustrating the profound impact of housing on one’s well-being as well as one’s opportunity to succeed.
Recommended Citation
Mackie, Julian E., "Just Housing: An Examination of Inequality in John Rawls’ Theory of Justice as Fairness" (2015). CMC Senior Theses. 1195.
https://scholarship.claremont.edu/cmc_theses/1195
This thesis is restricted to the Claremont Colleges current faculty, students, and staff.
