With Group Power Comes Great (Individual) Responsibility

20 POL. PHIL. & ECON. 22 (2021)

19 Pages Posted: 15 Oct 2020 Last revised: 3 Apr 2021

See all articles by Erin Miller

Erin Miller

University of Southern California Law School

Date Written: August 26, 2020

Abstract

A common problem identified in the literature on the ethics of collective action is the so-called "responsibility deficit," which occurs when no individual seems to be morally responsible for a collective action that causes harm. The most common philosophical solution is to assign "collective responsibility," or to hold the collective itself -- as an entity independent of its members -- responsible. This article argues against collective responsibility but articulates an alternative for filling the responsibility deficit: a heightened standard of moral care for individuals working within groups, based on their knowledge and authority within that group. One particularly important form of heightened responsibility I call "caretaker responsibility," or the responsibility to ensure that the institutional design of a group permits it to operate in morally careful ways.

Keywords: Collective responsibility

Suggested Citation

Miller, Erin, With Group Power Comes Great (Individual) Responsibility (August 26, 2020). 20 POL. PHIL. & ECON. 22 (2021), Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3681475

Erin Miller (Contact Author)

University of Southern California Law School ( email )

699 Exposition Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90089
United States
90089 (Fax)

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