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Putting costs and benefits of ordeals together

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  28 May 2020

Anders Herlitz Open the ORCID record for Anders Herlitz [Opens in a new window]
Anders Herlitz*
Affiliation:
Institute for Futures Studies, Stockholm, Sweden
*
Email: andersherlitz@gmail.com
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Abstract

This paper addresses how to think about the permissibility of introducing deadweight costs (so-called ‘ordeals’) on candidate recipients of goods in order to attain better outcomes. The paper introduces some distinctions between different kinds of value dimensions that should be taken into account when such judgements are made and draws from the literature on comparisons across different value dimensions in order to canvas what sort of situations one might arguably face when evaluating ordeals. In light of the distinctions drawn and the possibilities canvassed, the paper proceeds to outline what circumstances indicate which of the possible situations one is in.

Keywords

ordealstarget efficiencyincommensurabilitysuperiority in valuecomparisons
Type
Symposium Article
Information
Economics & Philosophy , Volume 37 , Special Issue 1: Special Issue on Ethics of Economic Ordeals , March 2021 , pp. 37 - 49
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Copyright
© Cambridge University Press 2020

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