World of Difference

In the public arena, discussions of the most pressing problems of our time (e.g., social inequality, religious conflicts, climate change) tend to emphasize individual level and instrumental explanations and solutions. What is often missing is a consideration of the moral dimensions and of the group level implications of these issues. This book elucidates how taking a moral perspective on societal issues and considering collective outcomes, instead of focusing on individual outcomes may benefit our understanding of social inequality, and can help address pressing societal problems more effectively. This work examines the added value of this general analysis in informing and advancing the public debate, by using it to improve our understanding of four pressing societal issues relating to inequality, namely Health, Work and education, Migration, and the Environment. It combines insights from sociology, philosophy, economy, epidemiology, engineering, law, and psychology offered by a multidisciplinary team of scholars, to provide a more adequate analysis of these issues and how to address them.