Conclusion: Could We Reciprocate to the Wounded Little Bird?

Abstract

Building on Rawls’s philosophy of contingency and Sen’s normative economics, this chapter seeks a theory of justice that incorporates the hard cases from the beginning. Furthermore, it tries to reconstruct the value assumptions of liberalism, taking the concept of dignity as a clue. The disparity in status between the right to work and the right to well-being and the disregard of the utilization ability to use the rights to liberties are criticized. Furthermore, based on Rawls’ philosophy of contingency and Sen's normative economics, the logic of “public reciprocity,” which incorporates both hard and normal cases, will be explored. Finally, while standing on the inviolability and incomparability of the dignity inherent in the individual, this chapter sought a logic in the capability approach to denounce actions that violate the obligation to respect dignity and to measure the damage for compensations. The discussion here indicates the possibility of a contribution of economics to the theory of value in a new way completely different from the price theory, which helps us to envision the future of the welfare state.