Dividing the indivisible

Stefan Wintein and Conrad Heilmann
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Conrad Heilmann: Erasmus University Rotterdam, The Netherlands

Politics, Philosophy & Economics, 2018, vol. 17, issue 1, 51-74

Abstract: Philosophical theories of fairness propose to divide a good that several individuals have a claim to in proportion to the strength of their respective claims. We suggest that currently, these theories face a dilemma when dealing with a good that is indivisible. On the one hand, theories of fairness that use weighted lotteries are either of limited applicability or fall prey to an objection by Brad Hooker. On the other hand, accounts that do without weighted lotteries fall prey to three fairness paradoxes. We demonstrate that division methods from apportionment theory , which has hitherto been ignored by philosophical theories of fairness, can be used to provide fair division for indivisible goods without weighted lotteries and without fairness paradoxes.

Keywords: fairness; fair division; John Broome; indivisibility; indivisible good; lotteries; fairness of lotteries; apportionment (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2018
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:sae:pophec:v:17:y:2018:i:1:p:51-74

DOI: 10.1177/1470594X17715248

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