A Distributive Justice Approach to Blameworthiness Over Time

Abstract

This paper brings together two recent shifts in the moral responsibility debate: on one side, the distinction between synchronic and diachronic responsibility; on the other, the incorporation of the distribution of responsibility itself into the domain of distributive justice. Focusing on individuals with morally arbitrary traits that increase their likelihood of wrongdoing and thus of being blameworthy, it argues that society has a duty not only to allocate resources to correct these unjust inequalities, but also to transfer resources to support those who seek to mitigate their blameworthiness. Combining these latest shifts in theories of moral responsibility, the paper argues for a distributive justice-oriented approach to addressing blameworthiness over time.