KantianDESERT is designed to formulate a new model of distributive justice in response to growing economic disparities globally, by offering a distinctive position within dominant egalitarianisms in current political theory/philosophy. Through several original contributions, the project builds an innovative case for a theory sensitive to individual just deserts. First, despite calls in political theory/philosophy to abandon ‘desert’, the project retrieves a strong critico-contestatory notion, which continues to guide us in our everyday distributive practices and denunciation of injustices. Secondly, against the background of a naturalist direction in academic disciplines and in the context of a call for theories of justice to be ‘political, not metaphysical’, KantianDESERT answers important metaphysical objections from moral responsibility scepticism, by drawing on a new reconstruction of Kant’s account of freedom and moral agency. Thirdly, in the context of a recent revival of interest in desertism and inspired by a novel reconstruction of Kant’s theory of justice, the project argues for an innovative desert-sensitive theory of distribution, which takes into consideration other important standards of justice, such as equality, efficiency or need, but is limited to non-life-altering goods. Fourthly, this model of distributive justice is regarded as provisional (again, following a new interpretation of Kant’s account of provisionality) and is implemented with the aim of emphasising the significance of responsibility, as well as enabling a transition to improved distributions. Finally, the new model will be applied to three case studies, in healthcare, education, and business. KantianDESERT is designed to produce not only significant scientific impact (a new research agenda and opening up new avenues for research), but also socio-political – it promises to break the cycle of structural economic injustice and to contribute to a fairer and more stable society.
Primary Investigator: Sorin Baiasu
Advisory Board includes: Professors Corinna Mieth (Bochum), John Roemer (Yale) and Roger Crisp (Oxford)
Back to: Department of Philosophy