Social Justice and Social Fraternity: What Individual Ethics does Socialist Justice demand?

Abstract

This paper discusses some of the theses of Gerald A. Cohen's posthumous book, which compiles some unpublished articles and others that can already be considered classics of political philosophy. Throughout the text, some of Cohen's most important criticisms against a regulated market for goods and services as a mechanism to achieve fair distribution are reconstructed. He argues that the existence of fair institutions is not a sufficient condition for a fair society. Furthermore, the conception of socialist ethics that functions as the ultimate foundation of Cohen's egalitarian theory is examined in detail and its practical implications for individual actions are analysed.