Parr, Tom (2016) The moral taintedness of benefiting from injustice. Ethical Theory and Moral Practice, 19 (4). pp. 985-997. doi:10.1007/s10677-016-9706-9 ISSN 1386-2820.

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Abstract

It is common to focus on the duties of the wrongdoer in cases that involve injustice. Presumably, the wrongdoer owes her victim an apology for having wronged her and perhaps compensation for having harmed her. But, these are not the only duties that may arise. Are other beneficiaries of an injustice permitted to retain the fruits of the injustice? If not, who becomes entitled to those funds? In recent years, the Connection Account has emerged as an influential account that purports to explain cases such as Embezzlement. This account holds that benefiting from injustice can give rise to a corrective duty - that is, a duty of compensation - owed specifically to the victim of the injustice from which the recipient benefits. This duty is grounded in the connection between the victim and the beneficiary of a given injustice. This paper has two aims. First, I show that we must reject the Connection Account on the grounds that it risks failing correctly to identify those who become entitled to the fruits of injustice. I achieve this by developing and defending the fairness objection. Second, I offer an alternative account: the Moral Taintedness Account. This account states that, when identifying who is entitled to the fruits of injustice, the cause and the degree of the harm suffered by a victim are both relevant considerations, though it does not matter whether the victim is the victim of the injustice that gave rise to the fruits in question. This account avoids the problem associated with the Connection Account, and yields intuitive conclusions in an important range of test cases.

Item Type:	Journal Article
Divisions:	Faculty of Social Sciences > Politics and International Studies
Journal or Publication Title:	Ethical Theory and Moral Practice
Publisher:	Springer Netherlands
ISSN:	1386-2820
Official Date:	August 2016
Dates:	Date Event August 2016 Published
Volume:	19
Number:	4
Page Range:	pp. 985-997
DOI:	10.1007/s10677-016-9706-9
Status:	Peer Reviewed
Publication Status:	Published
Reuse Statement (publisher, data, author rights):	This is a post-peer-review, pre-copyedit version of an article published in Ethical Theory and Moral Practice. The final authenticated version is available online at: http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10677-016-9706-9
Access rights to Published version:	Restricted or Subscription Access
Date of first compliant deposit:	17 September 2019
Date of first compliant Open Access:	17 September 2019
Related URLs:	Other Repository

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