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BPE Midterm > Chapter 5 > Flashcards

Chapter 5 Flashcards

1
Q

what did mill think about liberty?

A

for there to be liberty, it requires the protection of each citizen from harm

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2
Q

What did mill say about restricting liberty markets ?

A

That we should NOT - was pro laissez faire capitalism - competition of market is good

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3
Q

how did mill argue for distributive justice

A

utilitarianism

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4
Q

Does accepting the value of liberty have consequences for distributive justice?

A

yes - obviously - redistribution infringes on peoples rights, not redistributing means poor people are less free

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5
Q

valuing liberty requires

A

legitimately acknowledging property rights

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6
Q

What are Nozick’s beliefs about liberty and right to property?

A

the government should not interfere with them

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7
Q

what is the libertarian viewpoint on the distribution of property

A

it should be left unimpeded to free markets - property is placed within the sphere of an individua’ls protected rights

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8
Q

what is the opposing viewpoint on the libertarian perspective of distribution of property? What does it call for?

A

welfare liberalism, it calls for the redistribution of property from wealthy to less wealthy to ensure the liberty of all. Argues that property is not a protected right

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9
Q

who developed welfare liberalism?

A

John Rawls

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10
Q

Nozick and Rawls were

A

At odds

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11
Q

Dutch economist Jan Pen is famously known for (2)

A

His book income distribution + the example of the income parade

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12
Q

What is the income parade ? What is the point of it?

A

a hypothetical illustration of what income distribution would look like in the UK, people are miniscule at first, average sized at 45 minutes, and taller than skyscrapers at the last few seconds (assuming everyone in the country passed by in a parade over the course of 1 hour and their height represented their income). It illustrates how difficult it is to truly conceptualize income inequality.

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13
Q

According to Nozick what three principles are needed for property rights

A
  1. Justice in initial acquisition 2. Justice in transfer 3. Justice in ratification
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14
Q

which one of these principles did Locke primarily concern himself with?

A

Justice in initial acquisition

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15
Q

What are Locke’s two provisos for justice in initial acquisition of land
Back:

A
  1. You can’t take more land that you can use (non wastage proviso)
  2. There must be enough, equally as good land, for others
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16
Q

What is Locke’s first argument for the initial acquisition of land

A
  1. Locke relies on the fundamental law of nature - that human beings are to be preserved as much as possible under gods will so therefore if to perserve them selves they must acquire land then it is justified
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17
Q

What is Locke’s second argument for the initial acquisition of land

A

Locke’s labor mixing theory → if you work on a piece of unowned land then you are entitled to keep it

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18
Q

What is Locke’s third argument for the initial acquisition of land

A

Locke’s value added argument → if you make land more valuable then you should keep it (counter argument for this is that it only proves that you should keep it

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19
Q

what is Locke’s fourth argument for the initial acquisition of land?

A

industrious vs quarrelsome personality traits, god given industriousness should be rewarded → if you improve a piece of land your industriousness should be rewarded

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20
Q

According to the book, initial acquisition of land is

A

perhaps impossible to justify

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21
Q

the utilitarian justification of property rights concerns itself with

A

the benefits of trading and inheriting property and NOT initial acquisition

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22
Q

why is the position of of the consumer always improving according to smith?

A

NOT because of altruism, but because of self interst

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23
Q

why are free markets more efficient in providing well being to people than planned economies?

A

profit incentive, self interest does a better job at finding demand & supply equilibrium

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24
Q

what is the utilitarian defense of the free market?

A

it provides a more total sum of happiness that cannot be achieved by a planned economy

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25
Q
A
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26
Q

though there are substantial utilitarian advantages to the free market..

A

this does not make it the best system – it has to be modified

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27
Q

What is a negative externality + example

A

something that exists but has a negative side effect by virtue of existing that negatively affects a third party → companies exist & they pollute this is a negative externality.

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28
Q

positive externality

A

something that exists but has a positive side effect by virtue of existing and a third party gets to enjoy without doing anything → a public park, or the nice view of your neighbors lawn

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29
Q

The free market under supplies __ and over supplies ___

A

positive externalities, negative externalities

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30
Q

public goods and positive externalities are subject to which problem

A

the free rider problem ← people can enjoy without having to contribute, market incentivizes this thinking and this becomes a problem..

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31
Q

what is the solution to over supply of negative E’s & under supply of positive E’s?

A

the state pays for public goods / positive externalities and taxes negative externalities

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32
Q

What is the first criticism of the market (of 4)

A

Engels says the market is wasteful
points out that boom and bust cycles causes businesses to be sold at a loss
lots of people play no productive role in the market

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33
Q

What is the second criticism of the market?

A

The market leads to alienation. Capitalism = more efficient production processes and people perform highly specialized and repetitive tasks → the worke becomes an insignificant cog to the machine

34
Q

Third criticism to the market

A

capitalism exploits workers in the free market - Surplus of labor
The work done by workers is not proportional to the profits created for the capitalist

35
Q

Fourth most common criticism → relates to utilitarianism

A

the market leads to inequality and these are unjust

36
Q

what is the central assumption for the utilitarian argument for equality?

A

people have diminishing marginal returns for wealth → additional wealth for a poor person means a lot more than additional wealth for a wealthy person -

36
Q

the utilitarian argument for equality says

A

we just evenly distribute wealth to maximize societal utility

37
Q

why does it not matter if society is unequal in utilitarian terms

A

unequal societies have incentive to innovate - equal societies don’t and therefore an unequal society will produce more than an equal one and do better in terms of utilitarian value

37
Q

According to Rawls, how can we inspire justice?

A

by considering how an impartial person will look at the situation

38
Q

What is the concept of the hypothetical contract for rawls?

A

in a position of ignorance, and therefore impartiality, a hypothetical contract can be drafted to figure out what justice in society should be.

38
Q

justice requires impartiality, according to rawls, impartiality can be modeled by:

A

ignorance → you must be ignorant to be impartial

39
Q

what conditions will be present when the hypothetical contract takes place

A

you have to be in the original position

40
Q

what is true about someone in the original position according to rawls

A

they are behind a veil of ignorance, they don’t know their race, natural abilities, social standing, etc..

40
Q

to form a hypothetical contract that establishes what justice should look like in society, people must be in the

A

original position

40
Q

from the original position, what principles should rationally be drafted for justice?

A

the liberty principle, the difference principle, the fair opportunity principle

41
Q

What is the liberty principle and why should everyone rationally choose it

A

the liberty principle is simply that everyone should have extensive liberties and equality. People will choose the liberty principle in the original state because they do not know what groups of society they belong to so choosing to discriminate against one would run the risk of discriminating against themselves - so they’d rather everyone be equally free

42
Q

What does rawls concede about justice & the original positon?

A

personal interest is not the ONLY thing that determines a correct idea of justice

43
Q

What does rawls stipulate about the original state

A

people have a THIN theory of the good, and this is how they can make decisions based off this.

44
Q

What are primary goods in relation to the original state and why are they important?

A

primary goods are things that people know they “want” in the original state such as liberty, and opportunity. People are rational and prefer more primary goods to less.

45
Q

in the original position agents will not

A

be resentful of others good fortune

46
Q

in the original position agents are

A

mutually disinterested and don’t care about the plight of others

47
Q

What is the original position used for?

A

we use it to model what an impartial person would hypothetically choose when outlining a just society

48
Q

What does Rawls say people will do in the OG positon?

A

they will always choose his principles for justice

49
Q

what is the fair opportunity principle?

A

anyone can run for office and everyone has an equal opportunity of doing so

50
Q

what does rawls say about the liberty principle and why?

A

liberty principle has PRIORITY over the other two because freedom is more valuable than economic concerns (we cannot sacrifice liberty for the sake of anything else)

51
Q

What does rawls stipulate about incentive for innovation and inequality?

A

IF inequality is necessary to make everyone better off, then it is justified

52
Q

What does the difference principle ACTUALLY imply?

A

it means that the distribution of wealth in society should be equal UNLESS inequality is to everyone’s advantage, and in particular in advantage to the worse off..

53
Q

Rawls uses rational choice theory to

A

claim that the difference principle will be chosen

54
Q

what does maximizing expected utility mean for rational choice theory?

A

in a long run series of games, you choose the option that yields the highest average gain. This is considered the definition of rational choice

55
Q

what does the maximin principle of rational choice theory state?

A

You choose the option that ensures the best worst outcome, or you guarantee yourself the least worst outcome. This is the safest option - and usually for pessimists

56
Q

what does the maximax principle state?

A

you choose the riskiest choice in hopes of maximizing the best option

57
Q

why is maximax a joke principle?

A

because people would not take dire gambles if the consequence were high enough - in reality people play maximax constrained by disaster avoidance.

58
Q

Which rational choice principle is selected in the original position according to rawls?

A

maximin

59
Q

WHY is the maximin principle selected in the original position ?

A

Rawls argues that the use of the maximin principle and therefore, the selection of the difference principle, is the MORE rational decision. The best argument for this is that alternative principles of choice involve taking risks so grave that doing so would be foolish in the extreme. If you decide to gamble, and you lose, you are stuck. There is no second chance and the original position will not be replayed. Choose Maximin in rational expectations

60
Q

what are the 2 formal constraints of the original position ?

A
  1. constraint of publicity - all terms must be known when drafting hypothetical contract
  2. Constraint of finality - once the hypothetical contract is made you can’t go back
61
Q

what are the physical and logical constraints to the original state ?

A

physically, there are not infinite resources, logically it has to be possible you cant say everyone is richer than everyone else as a principle.

62
Q

what is constrained maximization and what does equate to in society

A

“roughly maximize expectations but exclude any option that constraints a disastrous possibility” → could be said that this is the same as the free market we have modified by the welfare system

63
Q

what is a criticism of rawls original state?

A

the fact that the conditions in the original state have to be uncontroversial and they must be shared moral beliefs

64
Q

what is a criticism of rawls primary goods?

A

it is said that knowledge of primary goods in the original state is rigged towards capitalism SO runs the criticism that the original position is biased in favor of individualism and capitalism

65
Q

: what the criticism about making people ignorant about natural assets in the OG Positon?

A

some people argue that natural assets are deserved - rawls says they are an accident of birth

66
Q

What do Rawl’s critics say about his principles?

A

to have proper respect for liberty, you cannot have the difference principle. Strong property rights = liberty , = no redistribution

67
Q

what is a historical theory of justice vs an end of state theory of justice according to Nozick ?

A

End of state = you can tell if something is just by looking at it’s structure from afar, historical theory = you must look into the situation and observe more information to make a judgment

68
Q

what does a patterned historical theory of justice look like ?

A

typically in reference to socialist distribution of resources

69
Q

what does an unpatterned historical theory of justice look like ?

A

meritocratic markets, people obtain resources through work and trade, no certain pattern to the market

70
Q

Nozick argues what about patterned distributions in historical theories of justice?

A

because of people’s free actions, there will be an unequal distribution regardless of how resources are initially distributed

71
Q

What does Nozick say about socialist distributions that lead to inequality?

A

if the first distribution was just, and naturally lead to an unequal state then the second distribution must also be just

72
Q

what did nozick argue about patterned distributions in historical theory of justice relating to liberty?

A

we can only enforce patterns at the grave cost of liberty

73
Q

What is the significance of these historical patterned distributions as a theory of justice?

A

this is all to say that with proper respect to liberty, we CANT enforce a pattern and therefore cannot have the difference principle while valuing the liberty principle

74
Q

BASICALLY: Difference principle DOESN’T WORK because

A

when you have it, and people are given wealth, inequalities rise naturally, and we must intervene and break the liberty principle to maintain the difference principle

75
Q

what does Rawls respond to Nozick with in regard to his argument against the difference principle?

A

nozick’s take is abstract, and difference principle can be maintained through non invasive systems such as taxation and the welfare system

76
Q

What did Nozick claim about taxation? Why?

A

he said taxation was slavery → taxation limits liberty

77
Q

What did Rawl’s respond to Nozick’s claim about taxation?

A

tax for redistribution also increases liberty by raising the income of the poor and giving them choices they did not have before

BPE Midterm (6 decks)

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