Management Papers
Document Type
Journal Article
Date of this Version
11-2006
Publication Source
Journal of Empirical Legal Studies
Volume
3
Issue
3
Start Page
421
Last Page
466
DOI
10.1111/j.1740-1461.2006.00075.x
Abstract
We report the results of three experiments examining the long-standing debate within tort theory over whether corrective justice is independent of, or parasitic on, distributive justice. Using a “hypothetical societies” paradigm that serves as an impartial reasoning device and permits experimental manipulation of societal conditions, we first tested support for corrective justice in a society where individual merit played no role in determining economic standing. Participants expressed strong support for a norm of corrective justice in response to intentional and unintentional torts in both just and unjust societies. The second experiment tested support for corrective justice in a society where race, rather than individual merit, determined economic standing. The distributive justice manipulation exerted greater effect here, particularly on liberal participants, but support for corrective justice remained strong among nonliberal participants, even against a background of racially unjust distributive conditions. The third experiment partially replicated the first experiment and found that the availability of government-funded insurance had little effect on demands for corrective justice. Overall, the results suggest that while extreme distributive injustice can moderate support for corrective justice, the norm of corrective justice often dominates judgments about compensatory duties associated with tortious harms.
Copyright/Permission Statement
This is the peer reviewed version of the following article: Mitchell, G. & Tetlock, P.E. (2006), "An Empirical Inquiry Into the Relation of Corrective Justice to Distributive Justice", Journal of Empirical Legal Studies, 3:3, pp. 421-466, which has been published in final form at http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1740-1461.2006.00075.x. This article may be used for non-commercial purposes in accordance with Wiley Terms and Conditions for Self-Archiving [http://olabout.wiley.com/WileyCDA/Section/id-820227.html#terms].
Recommended Citation
Mitchell, G., & Tetlock, P. E. (2006). An Empirical Inquiry Into the Relation of Corrective Justice to Distributive Justice. Journal of Empirical Legal Studies, 3 (3), 421-466. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1740-1461.2006.00075.x
Date Posted: 19 February 2018
This document has been peer reviewed.