Which equality for mobility?

Alloysius Joko Purwanto
Transport & Mobility Leuven
June 2009

For at least the last two decades, inequality has been a matter of great discussion in the area of mobility as in the economic field regarding social justice in particular. This social dimension is one of the three pillars of sustainable development. However, there is a considerable difference between, on one hand, political discourse and the work of researchers on measures of inequality in mobility and on the other hand, the conceptual dimension in mobility domain where “equalization” is needed. The objective of this paper is to show that the choice of a relevant dimension to equalize in the area of mobility is very important. It will be done by selecting multiple concepts of justice in the field of economics and political philosophy and by applying those concepts to the field of mobility. Three concepts are selected and analysed, namely: equal opportunities of John Roemer, equal resources of John Rawls and the capability approach of Amartya Sen.

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