A Defence of the Asymmetry in Population Ethics

Abstract

A common intuition is that there is a moral difference between `making people happy' and `making happy people.' This intuition, often referred to as `the Asymmetry,' has, however, been criticized on the grounds that it is incoherent. Why is there, for instance, not a corresponding difference between `making people unhappy' and `making unhappy people'? I argue that the intuition faces several difficulties but that these can be met by introducing a certain kind of reason that is favouring but non-requiring. It is argued that there are structural similarities between the asymmetry and moral options and that the asymmetry can be defended as an instance of a moral option.