Justice - Michael J. Sandel Flashcards
What are the three fundamental principles of ethics, justice, and law?
Welfare, freedom, and virtue
What is ‘welfare’ as a principle of ethics, justice, and law?
The economic, social, and overall well-being of society
What is ‘respecting freedom’ as a principle of ethics, justice, and law?
The sovereignty of the individual to make their own decisions (as long as they do not interfere with the freedom of others)
What is ‘promoting virtue’ as a principle of ethics, justice, and law?
Encouraging the ‘right’ or ‘ideal’ way of living (encouraging morality in the population)
What two main camps make up the ‘freedom’ debate of justice?
The laissez-faire camp and the fairness camp
Who is the father of utilitarianism (maximize pleasure and minimize pain for as many people as possible)?
Jeremy Bentham
Who added to Bentham’s utilitarian views by including moral reasoning of higher and lesser pleasures and pains as a starting point for ranking the various human activities?
John Stuart Mill
What two points did John Stuart Mill stress as additions to utilitarianism?
The importance of individual freedom;
That certain pleasures are ‘higher’ than others (e.g. watching Shakespeare has a higher intrinsic value than watching WWE)
What is an economic objection to wealth redistribution? What is the main libertarian objection to wealth redistribution?
That it will decrease productivity of the highest earners (who are often large employers and spenders as well);
That it violates the rights of the wealthy to do with their legally acquired money as they please
Libertarian views would argue that the government cannot do what three main things?
Legislate paternalistic protections (e.g. seatbelt laws);
Legislate morality and virtue (e.g. prostitution laws);
Redistribute wealth
What three responsibilities would a libertarian government have?
Enforce contracts;
Protect private property;
Keep the peace
What is the basic libertarian argument of the free-market?
All gains made through consensual interactions with others (i.e. trades or gifts) are justly gained, even though there will always be a level of inequality in the outcome. Individual freedom requires that individuals be allowed to make bargains and deals with each other as they wish. If both parties consent, the government has no place in that agreement.
Where does the basic libertarian argument of the free-market fall short?
It is not easy to prove whether one’s status and economic position today came from ill-gotten gains or not (e.g. land seizures from Native Americans, slavery of African-Americans, etc.). As many gains may have stemmed from this point, there may be an argument to be made for taxes, redistribution, and reparations to correct past wrongs.
From a libertarian perspective, if I own myself (self-ownership), then…
I own my labor as well (I cannot be forced by the government to provide services).
How does Kant respond to utilitarianism?
That morality does not stem from maximizing group happiness or any other end; morality is about respecting individuals as ends in and of themselves (basically, he argued for universal human rights regardless of any utilitarian attempt to ‘maximize welfare’). Kant would argue that (1) merely calculating what plan makes the most people the happiest will leave human rights vulnerable if in the end removing one person’s rights makes others happier; (2) just because something is pleasurable to many people doesn’t make it moral; (3) what the majority of people want will change over time. This makes popular decision a poor measuring tool for universal morality.
