ABSTRACT OF PAPER
Title: The paradox of ‘the Least Advantaged’ as criterion for a decent welfare policy
Author: Handelman Sapir
Contemporary thinkers, following John Rawls's Theory of Justice, insist that the benefit of 'The Least Advantaged' members of society should serve as a leading criterion for any social welfare policy. My central claim is that the practical implications of this criterion, especially in democratic regime, might lead to a policy benefiting those labelled, designated or classified as worst disadvantaged and not necessarily those who really are. Therefore, unfortunately, just intentions are no guarantee against unjust policy in practice. The article begins with an illustration of possible 'practical' implications of Rawls's general and theoretical 'difference principle'. It continues by developing the argument upon the inevitable tension between those genuinely worst disadvantaged and those merely so labelled, designated or classified. Finally, the paper closes with a case study demonstrating how the benefit of 'The Least Advantaged' is a problematic criterion for the conduct of a decent society, indeed, at least from considerations of justice.
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