In spite of a vast number of political studies on social democracy, little attention has been dev... more In spite of a vast number of political studies on social democracy, little attention has been devoted to its underlying philosophical principles. This doctoral thesis sets out the philosophical distinctions which are crucial to understanding the social-democratic trajectory. It identifies two models through which social democracy can be interpreted, the first centred on the idea of political compromise and the second on liberal egalitarianism. The former echoes the historical development of social democracies. Social democratic parties diverged from Marxist orthodoxy whilst retaining the socialist principle of just appropriation. In this context, social democratic institutions took shape as social democrats compromised with capitalist interests. We suggest, in the second model, that the institutions born through this process are consistent with the Rawlsian perspective of justice as fairness, provided we expand its scope to corporate governance. These rival interpretations of social...
L’approche liberale egalitaire a recemment defendu une democratisation de l’entreprise. Cette der... more L’approche liberale egalitaire a recemment defendu une democratisation de l’entreprise. Cette derniere garantirait une repartition plus equitable des biens premiers et permettrait d’affermir le sens civique des individus. Mais il apparait que ces arguments reposent sur des hypotheses theoriques non verifiees. Les auteurs examinent ces propositions au regard des acquis des sciences de gestion, en adoptant une demarche reflexive sensible aux difficultes du dialogue interdisciplinaire qu’elle cherche a etablir. Face au constat d’un decalage entre les connaissances disponibles en sciences de gestion et celles requises par les hypotheses rawlsiennes, ils suggerent des pistes pour le surmonter, tant du cote du liberalisme egalitaire que de celui des sciences gestion. Ils degagent ainsi les conditions auxquelles une reponse liberale egalitaire empiriquement informee pourra etre apportee a la question politique de la democratisation de l’entreprise.
Cet article conceptuel propose un nouveau cadre de lecture des ideologies en management. Alors qu... more Cet article conceptuel propose un nouveau cadre de lecture des ideologies en management. Alors que l’ideologie est depeinte en sciences sociales comme un socle coherent d’idees, tout un pan de la litterature en organisation souligne la grande flexibilite des pratiques individuelles. Aussi apparait-il necessaire de preciser l’ideologie comme un substrat ideel au contenu secable, et de poser le concept mediateur de repertoire ideologique, catalogue individuel d’items ideologiques mobilises de facon strategique par les membres organisationnels. Ce cadre de lecture etendu souleve des implications theoriques et empiriques qui sont ici discutees.
This article asks whether firms should exempt employees when they object to elements of their wor... more This article asks whether firms should exempt employees when they object to elements of their work that go against their conscience. Fairness requires that we follow the rules of an organization we have joined voluntarily only if these rules express mutual advantage. In corporations, I argue that subordination and exemption provides for mutual advantage better than subordination plus right of exit. This is because agents want to protect their conscientious convictions, even in hierarchical organizations geared towards efficient preference satisfaction. Thus exemptions should be granted in unforeseeable circumstances, provided the costs are limited.
This article asks whether firms should contribute to the costs of procreation and parenthood. We ... more This article asks whether firms should contribute to the costs of procreation and parenthood. We explore two sets of arguments. First, we ask what the principle of fair play – central in parental justice debates – implies. We argue that if one defends a pro-sharing view, firms are required to shoulder part of the costs of procreation and parenthood. Second, we turn to the principle of fair equality of opportunity. We argue that compensating firms for costs they incur because their employees decide to procreate or parent may undermine some of the incentives leading to (statistical) discrimination in the workplace.
ABSTRACT: Singer has recently argued that questions related to corporate governance are beyond th... more ABSTRACT: Singer has recently argued that questions related to corporate governance are beyond the reach of Rawls’s political conception of justice. This is because justice applies to the basic structure of society, understood as society’s legally coercive structures, and because corporate governance cannot be considered part of this structure in political liberalism. This commentary challenges the second part of the argument. First, it suggests that the criterion used to exclude corporate governance from the basic structure—whether employees can exit economic organizations—is not conclusive for corporate governance, notably as institutionalized in corporate law. Second, even if the focus were on corporate governance, it would still be possible to argue that it legally coerces citizens, if not employees, in a relevant way. Thus, the argument is not successful in demonstrating that political liberalism goes beyond its legitimate boundaries when considering that aspects of corporate g...
This paper re-examines the import of Rawls’s theory of justice for private sector institutions in... more This paper re-examines the import of Rawls’s theory of justice for private sector institutions in the face of the decline of the welfare state. The argument is based on a Rawlsian conception of justice as the establishment of a basic structure of society that guarantees a fair distribution of primary goods. We propose that the decline of the welfare state witnessed in Western countries over the past forty years prompts a reassessment of the boundaries of the basic structure in order to include additional corporate institutions. A discussion centered on the primary good of self-respect, but extensible to power and prerogatives as well as income and wealth, examines how the legislator should intervene in private sector institutions to counterbalance any unfairness that results from the decline of the welfare state.
In spite of a vast number of political studies on social democracy, little attention has been dev... more In spite of a vast number of political studies on social democracy, little attention has been devoted to its underlying philosophical principles. This doctoral thesis sets out the philosophical distinctions which are crucial to understanding the social-democratic trajectory. It identifies two models through which social democracy can be interpreted, the first centred on the idea of political compromise and the second on liberal egalitarianism. The former echoes the historical development of social democracies. Social democratic parties diverged from Marxist orthodoxy whilst retaining the socialist principle of just appropriation. In this context, social democratic institutions took shape as social democrats compromised with capitalist interests. We suggest, in the second model, that the institutions born through this process are consistent with the Rawlsian perspective of justice as fairness, provided we expand its scope to corporate governance. These rival interpretations of social...
L’approche liberale egalitaire a recemment defendu une democratisation de l’entreprise. Cette der... more L’approche liberale egalitaire a recemment defendu une democratisation de l’entreprise. Cette derniere garantirait une repartition plus equitable des biens premiers et permettrait d’affermir le sens civique des individus. Mais il apparait que ces arguments reposent sur des hypotheses theoriques non verifiees. Les auteurs examinent ces propositions au regard des acquis des sciences de gestion, en adoptant une demarche reflexive sensible aux difficultes du dialogue interdisciplinaire qu’elle cherche a etablir. Face au constat d’un decalage entre les connaissances disponibles en sciences de gestion et celles requises par les hypotheses rawlsiennes, ils suggerent des pistes pour le surmonter, tant du cote du liberalisme egalitaire que de celui des sciences gestion. Ils degagent ainsi les conditions auxquelles une reponse liberale egalitaire empiriquement informee pourra etre apportee a la question politique de la democratisation de l’entreprise.
Cet article conceptuel propose un nouveau cadre de lecture des ideologies en management. Alors qu... more Cet article conceptuel propose un nouveau cadre de lecture des ideologies en management. Alors que l’ideologie est depeinte en sciences sociales comme un socle coherent d’idees, tout un pan de la litterature en organisation souligne la grande flexibilite des pratiques individuelles. Aussi apparait-il necessaire de preciser l’ideologie comme un substrat ideel au contenu secable, et de poser le concept mediateur de repertoire ideologique, catalogue individuel d’items ideologiques mobilises de facon strategique par les membres organisationnels. Ce cadre de lecture etendu souleve des implications theoriques et empiriques qui sont ici discutees.
This article asks whether firms should exempt employees when they object to elements of their wor... more This article asks whether firms should exempt employees when they object to elements of their work that go against their conscience. Fairness requires that we follow the rules of an organization we have joined voluntarily only if these rules express mutual advantage. In corporations, I argue that subordination and exemption provides for mutual advantage better than subordination plus right of exit. This is because agents want to protect their conscientious convictions, even in hierarchical organizations geared towards efficient preference satisfaction. Thus exemptions should be granted in unforeseeable circumstances, provided the costs are limited.
This article asks whether firms should contribute to the costs of procreation and parenthood. We ... more This article asks whether firms should contribute to the costs of procreation and parenthood. We explore two sets of arguments. First, we ask what the principle of fair play – central in parental justice debates – implies. We argue that if one defends a pro-sharing view, firms are required to shoulder part of the costs of procreation and parenthood. Second, we turn to the principle of fair equality of opportunity. We argue that compensating firms for costs they incur because their employees decide to procreate or parent may undermine some of the incentives leading to (statistical) discrimination in the workplace.
ABSTRACT: Singer has recently argued that questions related to corporate governance are beyond th... more ABSTRACT: Singer has recently argued that questions related to corporate governance are beyond the reach of Rawls’s political conception of justice. This is because justice applies to the basic structure of society, understood as society’s legally coercive structures, and because corporate governance cannot be considered part of this structure in political liberalism. This commentary challenges the second part of the argument. First, it suggests that the criterion used to exclude corporate governance from the basic structure—whether employees can exit economic organizations—is not conclusive for corporate governance, notably as institutionalized in corporate law. Second, even if the focus were on corporate governance, it would still be possible to argue that it legally coerces citizens, if not employees, in a relevant way. Thus, the argument is not successful in demonstrating that political liberalism goes beyond its legitimate boundaries when considering that aspects of corporate g...
This paper re-examines the import of Rawls’s theory of justice for private sector institutions in... more This paper re-examines the import of Rawls’s theory of justice for private sector institutions in the face of the decline of the welfare state. The argument is based on a Rawlsian conception of justice as the establishment of a basic structure of society that guarantees a fair distribution of primary goods. We propose that the decline of the welfare state witnessed in Western countries over the past forty years prompts a reassessment of the boundaries of the basic structure in order to include additional corporate institutions. A discussion centered on the primary good of self-respect, but extensible to power and prerogatives as well as income and wealth, examines how the legislator should intervene in private sector institutions to counterbalance any unfairness that results from the decline of the welfare state.
L’approche libérale égalitaire a récemment défendu une démocratisation de l’entreprise. Cette der... more L’approche libérale égalitaire a récemment défendu une démocratisation de l’entreprise. Cette dernière garantirait une répartition plus équitable des biens premiers et permettrait d'affermir le sens civique des individus. Mais il apparaît que ces arguments reposent sur des hypothèses théoriques non vérifiées. Aussi réexaminons-nous ces propositions au regard des acquis des sciences de gestion, en adoptant une démarche réflexive sensible aux difficultés du dialogue interdisciplinaire qu’elle cherche à établir. Face au constat d’un décalage entre les connaissances disponibles en sciences de gestion et celles requises par les hypothèses rawlsiennes, nous suggérons des pistes pour le surmonter, tant du côté du libéralisme égalitaire que de celui des sciences gestion. Nous dégageons ainsi les conditions auxquelles une réponse libérale égalitaire empiriquement informée pourra être apportée à la question politique de la démocratisation de l’entreprise.
This paper re-examines the import of Rawls’ theory of justice for private sector institutions in ... more This paper re-examines the import of Rawls’ theory of justice for private sector institutions in the face of the decline of the welfare state. The argument is based on a Rawlsian conception of justice as the establishment of a basic structure of society that guarantees a fair distribution of primary goods. We propose that the decline of the welfare state witnessed in Western countries over the past 40 years prompts a reassessment of the boundaries of the basic structure in order to include additional corporate institutions. A discussion centred on the primary good of self-respect, but extensible to power and prerogatives as well as income and wealth, examines how the legislator should intervene in private sector institutions to counterbalance any unfairness that results from the decline of the welfare state.
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