Egalitarian syndrome and distributive justice

Abstract

Unequal distribution is not necessarily perceived as unjust. Most individuals seem to find it unfair only when caused by discrimination, abuse of power or greed. In other words, it is not distributive inequality per se, but unfair distributive inequality that people are bothered with. Such perception seems incompatible with the set of radically egalitarian values that in 1970 Josip Županov titled Egalitarian Syndrome (ES). His ES model implies a general aversion to unequal distribution – irrespective of its rationale. Considering that the assumed association between ES and specific views about distributive justice has never been empirically tested, the current study explored the link between the acceptance of ES and an aversion to unequal distribution. The study used data from 864 participants who were recruited through Facebook in May 2019. After confirmatory factor analysis resulted in a good fit of two key latent constructs (5-dimensional ES and 3-dimensional perception of distributive justice), path analysis resulted in a strong and positive association between the acceptance of ES and the preference for egalitarian distribution. Interestingly, the indicators of distributive justice in the domains of social and health care were either unrelated or only marginally related to each of the two key constructs, suggesting that the aversion to unequal distribution is not a simple reflection of social solidarity. The current study’s fi ndings corroborate the notion that ES and the perception that unequal distribution is never just are both parts of the same set of informal social