Moral Psychological Perspectives on Distributive Justice and Societal Inequalities

Concerns are growing about how societal resources are distributed in the United States and other countries. In this article, I argue that social domain theory (SDT), an approach within moral psychology, offers conceptual and methodological tools for addressing developmental changes in how individuals understand and morally evaluate the distribution of national resources. I summarize research indicating that American adults and adolescents underestimate actual levels of wealth inequality, while also sharing a consensus about ideal distribution of wealth that is far more equalitarian than their estimates of existing inequality. Then, I use several core features of SDT to examine age-related changes in how adolescents begin to integrate moral (e.g., fairness) and nonmoral (e.g., efficiency) considerations when they think about how to distribute wealth and other societal resources. The overall focus of this review is on identifying and beginning to examine the intersection of moral psychology, political philosophy, and economic trends.