key concepts oct 25 Flashcards
Who was the author who spoke about the veil of ignorance?
Rawls
The veil of ignorance was also called…?
The original position.
What was Rawls article called?
A Theory of Justice
What is the name of the article Bentham wrote?
An introduction to the principles of Morals and Legislation.
Which author approves of the theory, Utilitarianism?
Bentham
What does Utilitarianism analyze?
It analyzes the amount of peoples’ happiness in a system. It uses a hedonic calculation to measure this.
What is the problem with utilitarianism?
It is subjective and could promote segregation and it doesn’t really promote civil rights… because killing 1 to save 5 would be justifiable in utilitarianism.
What is a categorical imperative?
This is the critique of utilitarianism.. would you feel safe if it was okay to kill someone anytime it shows that it saves more people? Kant imperative tells us to go beyond considering the advantages/disadvantages
What author spoke about social contracts?
Hobbes/Locke
What was the name of Hobbes article?
Excerpts from Leviathan
What was Hobbes idea of anarchy?
He has a negative perspective of human nature, therefore he wants to avoid anarchy. He says that anything is better than an anarchy because it is so bad
Why is having a state better than anarchy?
Because having a system where you can do what you want strips people of their rights. Society progress when there is a state.
What does it mean to have a social contract?
A group of people give up certain rights to protect their other rights.. (property rights, freedom of speech). It is an implicit agreement to give up certain rights to benefit everyone
In what form does a state come in according to Hobbes?
Leviathan
What dilemma shows that Hobbes is right about human nature?
The prisoner dilemma
What did the prisoner dilemma show?
It showed that no matter how “good” of a person people are they eventually conform to the role they are given.
What does tacit consent ?
According to Lock it is giving consent w/o actually saying so. For ex: going to go vote and taking advantage of anything the state takes care of is tacitly consenting to the state that has control.
When does tacit consent apply?
When you are free to leave if you do not like the conditions.
When does tacit consent get invalidated in terms of politics?
When it is hard to leave countries.. because of the costs of transportation, housing, and processes of immigration and finding a job. It is only valid if you have the choice to leave your country.
What does right wing politics mean?
It means that you are okay with the presence of hierarchies in society and you are okay with less distributions of wealth.
What is the extreme of right wing politics?
Fascism
What does fascism entail?
The presence of racial hierarchies, gender rules, ultra nationalism (taking over countries/spending a lot of money on military).
What is an example of fascism?
The holocaust
What are left wing politics?
You want to reduce hierarchies, and support redistribution of wealth.
What is the extreme of left wing politics?
Communism
What is communism entail?
Brutal methods to get rid of elitists.
What is an example of communism?
China, Soviet Union is the 20th century.
What happen in states with extreme left wing politcs?
People starve, for example the famine in ukraine called holodormore.
What is the horse shoe?
That at both extremes of politics, individuals do not matter anymore.
What is similar about fascism and communism?
Both responsible for genocides
What is the difference between classical liberalism vs modern liberalism?
Classical is right winged politics whereas modern is left winged.
