ABSTRACT
This chapter lays the ground for the application of an egalitarian approach to tort theory. First, it explains the reasons for the inherent regressive bias of existing tort law. Second, it explores the ways in which an egalitarian commitment can reshape tort law. Third, it presents the difficulties involved in an attempt to assess a rule’s equality effect, given the multiplicity of participants and entitlements affected by a given rule. It discusses and explains issues of intra-group justice, the rule’s equality effects on third parties, and the occasionally conflicting dimensions of distribution that occur when a given rule distributes material and symbolic goods in opposite directions. Fourth, it explains the two possible egalitarian recommendations: to expand liability in favour of the disadvantaged (plaintiffs) or to limit the liability of the disadvantaged (defendants). Fifth, it sketches a framework for balancing the dictates of egalitarianism with other competing goals of tort law.
