The principle that people should be held personally responsible for the consequences of their choices is a fundamental moral ideal in Western societies. We report from a large-scale experimental study of how far-reaching this principle is for inequality acceptance. We show that third-party spectators violate minimal conditions for a morally relevant choice when making redistributive decisions for two workers. They accept more inequality when the workers have made nominal and forced choices than when brute luck is the source of inequality. We argue that our findings shed light on important current political debates about personal responsibility and redistributive policies.

中文翻译：

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选择与个人责任：什么是道德相关选择？

人们应对其选择的后果承担个人责任的原则是西方社会的基本道德理想。我们通过大规模实验研究报告了这一原则对不平等接受的影响有多深远。我们表明，在为两名工人做出再分配决定时，第三方旁观者违反了道德相关选择的最低条件。当工人做出名义上的和被迫的选择时，他们接受的不平等比野蛮的运气是不平等的根源时更多。我们认为，我们的研究结果阐明了当前关于个人责任和再分配政策的重要政治辩论。