Inequality: A Matter of Justice?

Abstract

Although philosophers and social scientists offer equality as a central principle of distributive, procedural, and interactional justice, it is misleading to claim simply that equality is just and inequality is unjust. This chapter addresses the complex relationship between inequality and justice by responding to three questions: (1) When are inequalities perceived to be just or unjust? (2) How do people respond to unfair inequalities? and (3) Why do people fail to redress unfair inequalities? In so doing, we examine both sociological and psychological approaches. We conclude by emphasizing the myriad of factors and processes that contribute to how individuals assess equality and justice, especially in view of the uncertainty characterizing many contexts. Such micro-level assessments, in turn, have implications for macro-level issues focused on group differences and the maintenance of the status quo—existing outcome distributions, decision-making procedures, and interaction rules—or challenges to it.