The Fair Society: An Ideology for the 21st Century

Abstract

The accumulating evidence about human evolution, and our growing respect for the complexities of “human nature”, provide the basis for a new ideology which accords more closely with the realities of the human condition.  A biologically grounded approach to social justice enables us to define a middle-ground between capitalism and socialism. I call this new ideology “fair shares” and I propose a normative framework that includes three complementary principles: (1) goods and services should be distributed to each according to his/her “basic needs”(which have a concrete  biological foundation);  (2) surpluses beyond the provision for our basic needs should be distributed according to “merit” (a principle which I will seek to clarify); and (3), in return, each of us is obliged to contribute to the “collective survival enterprise” in accordance with his/her ability (under the principle of reciprocity). Though none of these principles is new, in combination they constitute a biologically grounded ethical framework.