Can Normative Accounts of Discrimination Be Guided by Anti-discrimination Law? Should They? A Critical Note on Sophia Moreau's Faces of Inequality: A Theory of Wrongful Discrimination

In her recent book, Faces of Inequality (2020), Moreau aims at developing a normative account of discrimination that is guided by the main features of anti-discrimination law. The critical comment argues against this methodology, indicating that due to indeterminacy relative to their underlying normative principles, central anti-discrimination norms cannot fulfill this guiding role. Further, using the content of such norms to guide ethical discussions is likely to be misleading, as it reflects evi-dentiary considerations that are unique to the legal context. The critical comment’s claims are developed based on a close examination of indirect discrimination (or disparate impact) norms, and, as such, have wider im-plications for ongoing moral and political debates that are heavily influ-enced by the content of these norms.