Midterm/exam Flashcards
What is political philosophy?
“All activities associated with determining the
governance of a particular group of people”
What is aside from the governing of people another function of political philosophy?
“Radical and critical reflection on the fundamentals of reality and human existence”
What is the perception of Socrates about reality?
Socrates : “I know that I know nothing”
What is the perception of Newton about reality?
Newton : “If I have seen further it is by standing on the shoulders of giants”
What is normative theory?
- Political philosophy as a branch of moral theory
- Philosopher as legislator and judge
- John Rawls
What is critical theory?
- Political philosophy as a branch of social philosophy
- Philosopher as cartographer
- Michel Foucault
Why do people organize?
There is a constant debate going on that tries to identify why societies are created. There are theories for the evil nature of men and the good nature of men. Society as a result of competition/cooperation.
What is the perception of Thomas Hobbes on why people organize?
Men is evil. The state of nature is described as a “war against all”. Need for a strong state to govern people. An absolute state prevents men from falling into civil war.
Organization as the outcome of mens inability to cooperate. (e.g. toilet rolls in pandemic)
What is the perception of Benedictus Spinoza on why people organize?
Society/organization (state of nature) is based on spontaneous cooperation. There is no need for a strong state. the multitude (a population that has not entered into a social contract with a sovereign political body) are fully capable of governing themselves.
What hinders agreement on justice?
There is a conflict of interest. Private interest is opposing the interest of the common good.
J. Haidt: Rational arguments FOLLOW rather than precede moral believe. The perception of men on justice is also often influenced by the social position.
What hinders agreement on justice (aside from different interests)?
There are multiple perceptions of what “the good life entails”. Moral pluralism= allowing for different private conceptions of the good life. (public versus private matters)
What is egalitarianism?
“Equal distribution of goods”
Criticism= Unfair to people who merit more + equal distribution of misery
What is libertarianism?
“Individual freedom from interference”
Criticism= Inequality of opportunities + deepening inequality
What is utilitarianism?
Make as many people as possible happy?
Criticism= But what if sacrificing a minority makes the majority happier?
What are Rawls three principles of justice?
• Ad 3 (rules of distribution) the just
distribution of social primary goods
• Ad 2 (moral pluralism) justice versus
the good life
• Ad 1 (problems of interest) original
position
What is Ad 3 (rules of distribution)?
Ad 3: Rawls’ aim is to distribute “social primary goods”
• Primary goods? Goods required for the fulfillment of the good life
• Natural primary goods: good health, personal talents
• Social primary goods: political freedoms, income, social recognition, etc.
Distribution of said social primary goods is determined by Ad 1.
What is Ad 2 (moral pluralism)?
Basic idea of liberalism: maximizing individual freedom without harming others freedoms
• Rawls: Justice versus the good life
• Justice applies the basic idea of liberalism
• The good life is about how to use one’s freedoms
• Primary goods only concern justice means to a good life
- Examples:
- Income versus what you do with that income
- Freedom of speech versus what you do with this speech
What is Ad 1 (problems of interest)?
Ad 1: the original position
• Debating justice from behind a ‘veil of ignorance’
• The original position
• “How would you want social primary goods to be distributed if you would not know who you
would become in the group?”
• Maximin-reasoning
• ‘Maximin’ = maximizing the minimum
• Risk averse individuals choose for a group where the interests of those worst off are
maximized
How do Rawls’ principles of justice work and how can exceptions occur?
Principle 1: the maximum equal distribution of social primary goods to every individual compatible with the social primary goods of others (basic idea of liberalism)
Principle 2: possible exceptions to equality
• A) Only when those inequalities favor those least well off (maximin)
• B) Only when the better social positions are accessible to everyone (equality of opportunity)
What are issues with Rawls’ assumption that ‘free and equal persons’ are ‘heads of families’?
(1) What about interpersonal dependencies?
(2) What about the other members of the family?
What are the assumptions to wether the rules of justice apply to the private family?
A. Rawls excludes the private family (part of the good life).
B. Rawlsian feminists include the private family (part of justice).
How does the interpersonal dependencies view the liberal individuals?
(J. Butler)
Liberal ideal of the autonomous, self-sustaining individual:
1) I don’t always get to determine how I cultivate the good life
• 2) My notion of the good life is not entirely my own choice
Human beings are embedded in relations of care. The autonomous, self-sustaining individual is an illusion. Interweaving of self and others.
How did the breadwinner-model family originate?
(S. Federici)
18th-19th century: men and women both worked in the
factories.
20th century: social compromise
• Male workers got better wages and political
representation in exchange for social peace
• Higher male wages led to the emergence of the
housewife
• Sexual division of labour: men provide, women care
Why do the principles of justice of Rawls’ apply to the private family?
(S. Moller Okin)
A) The family is a ‘basic institution’ of society
B) The state already intervenes in family institutions
C) The family is ‘the first school of social justice’
What are some motives and examples to the application of Rawls principles of justice to the private family (S. Moller Okin)?
A) The family as basic institution
• ‘Basic institution’ = an institution that is responsible for distributing primary social goods
• Examples: school, social security system, family
B) The State already intervenes in the family
• ‘Private’ family is a myth
• Example: child benefit system
• Cf. Foucault on bio politics
C) Family as first school of social justice
• Children must be taught to respect justice
• Requires institutions that are themselves also just (‘practice what you preach’)
How can Rawls’ principles of justice be applied to the breadwinner family model?
First principle: equal distribution of maximum (social) primary goods
Second principle: inequalities should favor the least well-off + equality of opportunity
- Results?
1) Equalizing the responsibilities of care work
2) Protecting those most responsible for unpaid care work
3) Equality of opportunity to become ‘provider’ or ‘caretaker’ - Examples:
1) Gender-neutral parental leave
2) Alimony after divorce
What are some critical issues to liberal feminism
1) Intersectionality (K. Crenshaw) The history and challenges of feminism are not uniform. There is a tendency to favor white middle-class women. Women's emancipation should give attention to internal diversity (race, sexuality, nationality, disability, heritage, etc.)
2) Progressive neoliberalism (N. Fraser)
Focus on individual rights and opportunities. Again ignoring the inequality of opportunity. Feminism has evolved from revolutionary feminism to girlboss feminism. Example= Outsourcing of family work to exploited (female) migrants.
What is the core of the communitarian position?
Principles of justice cannot work without a shared idea of the good life. Individual rights and liberties can be limited to support this
shared idea of the good life. Group rights to protect (minority) communities
(Example: indigenous peoples)
What are the four arguments against Rawls?
(1) Decadence argument
(2) Emptiness argument
(3) Self-perception argument
(4) Embedded self argument
What is the decadence argument against Rawls?
Too much individualism leads to social decadence (verval).
“To live for the moment is the prevailing passion—to live for yourself, not for your predecessors or posterity. We are fast losing the sense of historical continuity, the sense of belonging to a succession of generations originating in the past and stretching into the future.”
Self-realization must be balanced by commitments to the community
What are the liberal arguments against the decadence argument?
The liberal distribution of goods does not hinder the commitment to community. Only primary goods (= means for leading a good life) are the object of justice, not the good life itself.
(Questions whether community commitment should be a personal choice)
What is the emptiness argument against Rawls?
Liberal notion of the individual self is empty. It is against the original position. “Complete freedom would be a void in which nothing
would be worth doing, nothing would deserve to count for anything.”. What is freedom supposed to be used for? It is required to be embedded in a community that provides meaningful goals in life.
What are the liberal arguments against the emptiness argument?
Rawls’ point is not that the liberal individual actually has complete freedom to choose her goals. But the individual is always free to distance himself from any particular goals that are set out for him. Even in a ‘void’ individuals would still choose social primary goods.
What is the self-perception argument against Rawls?
Our perception we have of ourselves is formed by ‘fundamental believes’. Some of our believes are so basic to our identity that it is impossible to distance ourselves from them. Fundamental believes originate from the communities to which we are committed. Problem for the original position argument.
What is the liberal argument against the self-perception argument?
Nonetheless, people can still change their fundamental believes. Strive for a society that allows individuals to leave their community after conversion.
What is the embedded self argument?
The good life is not a choice but a discovery. This discovery is dependent upon the presence of others. It sees ‘the self’ as an embedded agent in a society. The individual is embedded in a society with its own value system that precedes and constitutes this individual.
What is the liberal argument against the embedded argument?
Even if the good life is discovered, the individual is still autonomous to accept the calling. Freedom to choose not to accept the calling.
What are some criticisms to Rawls’ social contract
Although it can be seen as an ideal the theory, the circumstances are non ideal. Rawls’ approach lacks is ahistorical (example of kidneys). There is a disconnect between the theory and the real world scenarios. Liberal social contract requires a previous decision. Original position can lead to unfair outcomes. May not be the best theory to think about resource allocation in a society.
What is Charles Mills’ racial contract?
Social contract. Sustained critique of the liberal political tradition but still believed in liberalism. Neutral with respects to race and ethnicity. This is because modern liberals embodied ideals of freedom and equality with the presence of racial oppression and colonization. This was justified by dividing the polity between persons and sub-persons. It explains the economic dimensions as the “European industrial miracle” is just based on exploitation and colonization.
How was the racial contract and sub-personhood enforced?
A: Violence. Both state and non-state violence. Gave rise to black live matters
B: Ideological conditioning. Interpellation (Its just how things are)
The racial contract as economic reality. What is Marx’ and Luxemburgs’ perception on ‘private accumulation’?
The original stock of investment capital came from the government taking a way land, homes and natural resources from people(enclosures-> creating private wealth). In turn, people had to work for wages in order to make a living (even when method of life is self-sustaining). It puts the profits back into the methods of production (preferably machines as they are more efficient) and neglects the working class. Luxemburg believes that the accumulation is not primitive at all as a continued need of exploiting resources is needed.
What are the deep disagreements against Rawls and the liberal world? Define and explain them.
1: The tolerance paradox. Liberal order must be tolerant to different conceptions of the good life. But how tolerant should it be of illiberal ways of life?
2: The paradox of liberalism (C. Mouffe): Who decides what count as ‘reasonable’ or ‘justice-related? Who can be considered as a relevant voice?
What is the political realm ultimately about?
- Procedures that determine public policy
- The fundamental conflicts of society
Important is distinction! Good vs bad politics. “The specific political distinction to which political actions and motives can be reduced is that between friend and enemy.”– Carl Schmitt, The Concept of the Political
What is mouffe’s distinction between politics and political?
Politics: Official procedures for the deliberation and implementation of governmental policy. (Parliament, government, state administration)
The political: Fundamental conflicts of a society. Passionate attachments to our way of life and our fundamental believes. -> Anything can become political!
Where and how do Mouffe and Rawls clash?
Rawls: Attempts to ‘depoliticize’ society. Danger can occur when appeals to universal reason are invokes. This can worsen political conflict. Schmitt: “whoever invokes humanity or morality is cheating.
Mouffe: Political conflict and deep disagreement are unavoidable. These must be accommodated by democratic conflict. No single ideology can ever be dominant, only hegemonic.
What is hegemony (Gramsci)?
Different conceptions of the common good life compete for influence:
• Competing attempts to define ‘common sense’
• Struggle for control over social institutions
• Importance of interpellations
Examples
1) Fox News
2) Ecological education
