Call for Papers

Inequalities permeate the societies in which we live in various forms that affect human rights. Socio-economic inequalities entail unequal social and political opportunities for citizens. This deprives citizens of certain rights, or of a reasonable effective value of these rights for them. Among else, these include opportunities for education, information, social positions, career opportunities and healthcare. For example, Health itself appears to be influenced by socio-economic status, while socio-economic inequalities also cause differences in the value of political liberties for different citizens. All of these cases can reasonably be seen as examples of unfairness.

The question is at what point is it legitimate, and even efficient for the citizens' benefits, to compress inequalities. Among the problems that can arise when inequalities are compressed is the possibility of a downward levelling, where an increase in equality is not accompanied by an increase in welfare. However, allowing inequalities for the sake of increasing welfare can only be an ephemeral measure. This is because some goods are positional and certain people might be harmed even if they get more of them, should the others receive even more. Further, there is also the question of efficient policy and balance between equality-oriented policies and the protection of political and personal freedoms.

In addition to socio-economic inequality, there are various other forms of inequality. These include inequalities related to group membership, which manifest themselves in unfair effective opportunities and access to well-being, such as in cases of gender, racial, ethnic, sexual or religious discrimination. A specific case is the translation of disabilities into socio-economic inequalities or unfair opportunities.

Inequalities are not only relevant in the relationships of citizens within a state, but also between different states and societies. This raises the question of the legitimacy of inter-state or international measures to compress inequalities, of the desirable forms of such measures, and of their prospects for success.

We invite contributions that address these questions from the fields of political science, philosophy, law and other related disciplines, including the history of ideas. Please send an abstract of no more than 250 words to Elvio Baccarini at: elvio.baccarini@ffri.uniri.hr by May 31, 2023. You will be notified of your participation by June 14, 2023. Selected participants will be invited to present their papers. The participation fee for the course is 60 EUR.