Implementing Luck Egalitarianism in a Relational Way: Selecting Social Contracts Under Resource Constraints, Resolving Practical Challenges, and Ensuring Dignity

AbstractThere is a disparity between luck egalitarianism and social reality, as illustrated by widening inequality. This paper argues for the implementation of luck egalitarianism to resolve this disparity, showing that its implementation should incorporate critiques from relational egalitarianism. First, by examining luck egalitarianism under resource constraints, the promising nature of the equality of resources (an equality of goods and leisure) is demonstrated. Equality of resources is a promising choice for those who want to live in a free and equal society in which the relational aspects between people are considered with full regard for human dignity. The idea of a hypothetical insurance market, separate from luck egalitarianism, should be abandoned. Furthermore, three practical challenges in social implementation—the distinction between option and brute luck, the harshness objection, and tensions with the private sphere—are discussed. To resolve these challenges, luck egalitarianism should be implemented relationally, guided by the idea of dignity and embodied in reasonable standards within social institutions.