Distributive Justice and the Harm Principle

Abstract

This paper explores the implications of the Harm Principle, modified to accommodate recent criticisms by Arthur Ripstein, for theories of distributive justice. It concludes that the Principle leads to a left-libertarian theory of justice that is based not on egalitarianism but rather on considerations internal to the Harm Principle itself. This theory avoids criticisms of incoherence that have been rightly applied to other recent versions of left-libertarianism, and supports a requirement of substantial redistribution without necessarily precluding further redistribution for reasons other than those of justice.