John Gardner’s Continuity Theory of Corrective Justice

Abstract

This chapter discusses John Gardner’s justification of wrongdoers’ duty to repair, which is based on what he labelled the “continuity thesis”. After noting that continuity-thesis-based justifications of wrongdoers’ duty to repair come in different forms, it is suggested that Gardner can be read either as offering a version that is based on a loss-independent right to hold on to one’s existing life, or a version that is based on a right against wrongful loss. It is argued that the former version cannot justify reparation generally, and that the latter version cannot work in circumstances of distributive injustice. Two passages by Gardner discussing distributive-justice-based challenges to corrective justice are then considered, and it is argued that they provide no satisfactory reply to the concern just raised.