The Research On Cohen's Conception Of Socialist Equality

G.A.Cohen is a representative figure in Analyzing Marxism,and his life is dedicated to defending the equality of socialism.The anti-socialist argument made by libertarian philosopher Robert Nozick,which from the perspective of equal rights,is the main reason for Cohen to turn to the study of political philosophy.Based on his adherence to the equal value of socialism,Cohen refuted Nozick's theory of rnghts from such aspects as "whether the justice of the transaction process can guarantee the justice of the transaction result","whether the exploitation is unfair",and"self-ownership or a community Shared by all",so as to effectively defend the socialist equality.While arguing with Nozick,Cohen also formed his own concept of socialist equality.In his view,under the condition of public ownership of world resources,socialist equality and freedom are compatible.The reason for the contradiction between freedom and equality demonstrated by Nozick lies in the combination of self-ownership and private ownership.Therefore,in order to achieve the unity of freedom and equality,it is necessary to restrict or abolish self-ownership.Specific to the way to achieve socialist equality,Cohen believes that market socialism is only a sub-optimal choice,because people's abilities under the condition of market socialism always be performed at different levels,only when the social structure is set so that people's returns are not determined by their abilities,can a more substantial equality between people be expected.In Cohen's view,this more substantial equality of socialism will be realized in a coimmunity of care and reciprocity.Finally,from the theoretical perspective of Marxism,combined with the analysis of the overall characteristics of the theoretical school of "Analysing Marxism",this paper evaluate and analyse Cohen's view of socialist equality.This paper argues that Cohen's view of socialist equality explores the possibility of achieving the equal value of socialism trom a moral point of view,which not only promotes the dialogue between Marxism and contemporary liberalism,but also enriches the connotation of Marxist equality,which can be regarded as the contemporary interpretation and expansion of marxist equality view.The core theme of Cohen's socialist concept of equality is"seeking equality under the condition of scarcity",which undoubtedly has important model significance and enlightenment to contemporary China,also,it provides a useful way to solve the problem of "fairness,justice and Shared development" in contemporary China.Of course,there are some limitations in the methods and perspectives of Cohen's exploration of socialist equality,which makes his socialist equality theory easily become a utopian fantasy.