Equality of Autonomy Society

An Equality of Autonomy Society is a society that aims to achieve autonomy equality for its society members.

• • …
• Counter-Example(s):
  • Equality of Outcome.
  • Equality of Opportunity.
• See: Political Philosophy, Amartya Sen, Autonomy, Empowerment, Equality of Opportunity, Equality of Outcome.

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References

2014

• (Wikipedia, 2014) ⇒ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Equality_of_autonomy Retrieved:2014-5-17.
  • Equality of autonomy is a concept from political philosophy advocated by Amartya Sen which suggests that societies should strive to help individuals have an equal chance at autonomy or empowerment. This means people should have "the ability and means to choose our life course" which should be "spread as equally as possible across society." It is an equal shot at empowerment rather than equal goods or equal chances. The concept has a slightly different emphasis from related notions about equality, such as the value of having equal treatment without discrimination or prejudice in places such as the work world, generally known as equality of opportunity, and having equal material wealth, generally known as equality of outcome. Equality of autonomy is best thought of as "equality in the degree of empowerment people have to make decisions affecting their lives" and strives to spread this empowerment widely so that people have more "choice and control … given their circumstances." According to one view, Sen's approach requires "active intervention of institutions like the state into people's lives" but with an aim towards "fostering of people's self-creation rather than their living conditions." Sen argued that "the ability to convert incomes into opportunities is affected by a multiplicity of individual and social differences that mean some people will need more than others to achieve the same range of capabilities."

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