Justice in the City

Today, more than half of the world's population lives in cities.This alone suggests that political philosophy, particularly theories of justice, should pay more attention to cities than it has hitherto.Following Wolff and de-Shalit (2024), we can list the main characteristics of the city: institutional authority over a territory and limited powers; high population density and plurality in the respective territory; a cultural-political identity distinct from national identity, and comprehensive opportunities needed to foster creativity and different ways of life.Due to all these characteristics, theories of justice designed for the state cannot simply be applied to the city.In this paper, I will focus on two very influential theories of egalitarian justice and attempt to determine how they can be adapted to the specific characteristics of the city.The first theory is John Rawls's justice as fairness, which includes the difference principle stating that economic and social inequalities are justified only if they maximize the benefit for the least advantaged compared to alternative arrangements.As this principle primarily concerns income and wealth, it is difficult to apply to the city because the distribution of income and wealth chiefly depends on the policies and laws of the state.Still, the city is responsible for providing many public services and distributing public goods.The difference principle needs to be modified to reflect the view that the situation of the least advantaged is not improved only through the distribution of material goods, but also the quality and accessibility of public services.The second theory is Martha Nussbaum's approach, based not on goods but on capabilities.In this case, justice requires the development of various capabilities affecting the well-being of city residents.In this context, Nussbaum's capability for affiliation is particularly important.At the city level, it involves a sense of place, the feeling that people can cultivate their various potentials in the city.The city is a more cohesive community than the state; due to higher population density, other people's actions affect our everyday lives much more directly.The sense of belonging in the city, as the sense of our place, is different from the sense of belonging in the country and requires different city policies toward both space and public services.