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What Should We Agree on about the Repugnant Conclusion?

Author

Listed:
  • Stéphane Zuber

    (CES - Centre d'économie de la Sorbonne - UP1 - Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, PSE - Paris School of Economics - UP1 - Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne - ENS-PSL - École normale supérieure - Paris - PSL - Université Paris Sciences et Lettres - EHESS - École des hautes études en sciences sociales - ENPC - École des Ponts ParisTech - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique - INRAE - Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement)

  • Nikhil Venkatesh
  • Torbjörn Tännsjö
  • Christian Tarsney
  • H. Orri Orri Stefánsson
  • Katie Steele
  • Dean Spears

    (University of Texas at Austin [Austin])

  • Jeff Sebo
  • Marcus Pivato

    (THEMA - Théorie économique, modélisation et applications - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique - CY - CY Cergy Paris Université)

  • Toby Ord
  • Yew-Kwang Ng
  • Michal Masny
  • William Macaskill
  • Nicholas Lawson
  • Kevin Kuruc
  • Michelle Hutchinson
  • Johan E Gustafsson
  • Hilary Greaves
  • Lisa Forsberg
  • Marc Fleurbaey

    (PSE - Paris School of Economics - UP1 - Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne - ENS-PSL - École normale supérieure - Paris - PSL - Université Paris Sciences et Lettres - EHESS - École des hautes études en sciences sociales - ENPC - École des Ponts ParisTech - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique - INRAE - Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement)

  • Diane Coffey
  • Susumu Cato
  • Clinton Castro
  • Tim Campbell
  • Mark Budolfson
  • John Broome
  • Alexander Berger
  • Nick Beckstead
  • Geir B Asheim

Abstract

The Repugnant Conclusion is an implication of some approaches to population ethics. It states, in Derek Parfit's original formulation, For any possible population of at least ten billion people, all with a very high quality of life, there must be some much larger imaginable population whose existence, if other things are equal, would be better, even though its members have lives that are barely worth living. (Parfit 1984: 388)

Suggested Citation

  • Stéphane Zuber & Nikhil Venkatesh & Torbjörn Tännsjö & Christian Tarsney & H. Orri Orri Stefánsson & Katie Steele & Dean Spears & Jeff Sebo & Marcus Pivato & Toby Ord & Yew-Kwang Ng & Michal Masny & W, 2021. "What Should We Agree on about the Repugnant Conclusion?," PSE-Ecole d'économie de Paris (Postprint) halshs-03197372, HAL.
    • Handle: RePEc:hal:pseptp:halshs-03197372
    DOI: 10.1017/s095382082100011x
    Note: View the original document on HAL open archive server: https://shs.hal.science/halshs-03197372
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    Other versions of this item:

    • Zuber, Stéphane & Venkatesh, Nikhil & Tännsjö, Torbjörn & Tarsney, Christian & Stefánsson, H. Orri & Steele, Katie & Spears, Dean & Sebo, Jeff & Pivato, Marcus & Ord, Toby & Ng, Yew-Kwang & Masny, Mic, 2021. "What Should We Agree on about the Repugnant Conclusion?," Utilitas, Cambridge University Press, vol. 33(4), pages 379-383, December.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Arrhenius, Gustaf, 2000. "An Impossibility Theorem for Welfarist Axiologies," Economics and Philosophy, Cambridge University Press, vol. 16(2), pages 247-266, October.
    2. Ng, Yew-Kwang, 1989. "What Should We Do About Future Generations?," Economics and Philosophy, Cambridge University Press, vol. 5(2), pages 235-253, October.
    3. Marc Fleurbaey & Bertil Tungodden, 2010. "The tyranny of non-aggregation versus the tyranny of aggregation in social choices: a real dilemma," Economic Theory, Springer;Society for the Advancement of Economic Theory (SAET), vol. 44(3), pages 399-414, September.
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    Cited by:

    1. Spears, Dean & Stefánsson, H. Orri, 2021. "Additively-separable and rank-discounted variable-population social welfare functions: A characterization," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 203(C).
    2. Walter Bossert & Susumu Cato & Kohei Kamaga, 2023. "Thresholds, critical levels, and generalized sufficientarian principles," Economic Theory, Springer;Society for the Advancement of Economic Theory (SAET), vol. 75(4), pages 1099-1139, May.
    3. Cato, Susumu & Harada, Ko, 2023. "A new result on the impossibility of avoiding both the repugnant and sadistic conclusions," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 232(C).

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