Lottery of birth

The lottery of birth is a philosophical argument which states that since no one chooses the circumstances
into which they are born, people should not be held responsible for them (being rich, being poor and so
on).[1]

The lottery of birth argument has been used by philosophers such as John Locke, Thomas Hobbes and
Jean-Jacques Rousseau, but more modern day uses have been prompted by political theorists such as John
Rawls, who explores the subject in depth in his book A Theory of Justice.[2]

See also
Nepotism

References
1. Roemer, John E. (2002-04-01). "Equality of opportunity: A progress report". Social Choice
and Welfare. 19 (2): 455–471. CiteSeerX 10.1.1.414.9302 (https://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/view
doc/summary?doi=10.1.1.414.9302). doi:10.1007/s003550100123 (https://doi.org/10.1007%
2Fs003550100123). ISSN 0176-1714 (https://www.worldcat.org/issn/0176-1714).
2. Roemer, John E. (2002). "Egalitarianism against the Veil of Ignorance". The Journal of
Philosophy. 99 (4): 167–184. CiteSeerX 10.1.1.193.7196 (https://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewd
oc/summary?doi=10.1.1.193.7196). doi:10.2307/3655614 (https://doi.org/10.2307%2F36556
14). JSTOR 3655614 (https://www.jstor.org/stable/3655614).

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This page was last edited on 5 September 2021, at 11:09 (UTC).

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