A New Theory of Sufficientarian Justice

Sufficientarianism is the view that justice is fulfilled when everyone has enough. But how should we interpret this view as an ideal of distributive justice? This book develops and defends the umbel view as a new theory of sufficientarian justice. The umbel view suggests that justice is fulfilled if, and only if, no one is below the threshold level in any relevant sphere of value, and that below this level, we should give absolute priority to meeting people’s basic needs. The book unpacks this new theory of sufficientarian justice as a framework with eight spheres of justice-relevant capabilities. It discusses the theory’s implications for discrimination, political feasibility, and public policy, and ends by demonstrating how the umbel view shows great potential for policy guidance on issues such as universal basic income, health inequality, and extreme wealth.

Author Biography

Lasse Nielsen is Associate Professor in Philosophy at the University of Southern Denmark, and a member of the Center for Philosophy and Ethics of Health. He works on political philosophy and applied ethics, and has published on topics such as distributive justice, health ethics, discrimination, immigration, and educational philosophy.