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PHIL 1100- Final Exam > Principles Of A Just Society > Flashcards

Principles Of A Just Society Flashcards

1
Q

Thinking about political principles for free, equal and rational persons:

A
  • Rational
  • Equal as moral persons
  • Mutually disinterested
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2
Q

They will always take the most effective means to given ends

A

Rational

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3
Q

Their ends and conceptions of the good are equally valued

They all have the same rights in the procedure for choosing principles (make proposal, submit reasons for their acceptance, and so on)

A

Equal as moral persons

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4
Q

They don’t take an interest in one another’s interests

A

Mutually disinterested

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5
Q

Two components of a theory of justice

A
  1. Method
  2. Principles
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6
Q

Interpretation of the initial situation, the choice to be decided on, and how to decide

A

Method

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7
Q

A set of principles which would be agreed to using the method

A

Principles

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8
Q
  • equivalent of the state of nature
  • a thought experiment
A

The Original Position

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9
Q

A hypothetical description about the (mental) state you should put yourself in to decide the principle of justice

A

equivalent of the state of nature

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10
Q

not an actual historical state of affairs or primitive condition of culture

A

A thought experiment

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11
Q

An imaginary “curtain” you step behind, which puts people in the Original Position

It removes all knowledge of how various alternatives will affect one’s particular case

No one knows their:

Do know:

A

The veil of ignorance

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12
Q

place in society,

class position or social status,

fortune in the distribution of natural assets and abilities, intelligence, strength, etc.,

conceptions of the good,

special psychological propensities

the economic, political, cultural, or industrial situation of our society

the generation they belong to

A

No one knows their:

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13
Q

their society is subject to circumstances of justice

general facts about human societies such as:

A

Do know:

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14
Q

general facts about human societies such as:

A
  • politic affairs,
  • principles of economic theory,
  • basis of social organization,
  • laws of human psychology,
  • whatever else affects the choice of principles of justice
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15
Q

Why use the veil of ignorance and the original position?

A
  • Together, puts people in the position to decide the principles of justice
  • Must correct for the arbitrariness of the world
  • Makes sure people will choose principles that won’t give anyone advantage or disadvantage based on the outcomes of natural chance or contingent social circumstances
  • Removes knowledge of how the various alternatives will affect their own particular case, so no one can choose in their favor
  • Makes sure people don’t have the basis for bargaining, and have no reason to form coalitions
  • The participations must evaluate principles on the basis of general considerations, rather than their own
  • Makes it fair
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16
Q

“Each person is to have an equal right to the most extensive scheme of equal basic liberties compatible with a similar scheme of liberties for others” (60)

A

Equal Liberty Principles

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17
Q

“Each person is to have an equal right to the most extensive scheme of equal basic liberties compatible with a similar scheme of liberties for others” (60)

A
  • applies to aspects of the social system that define and secure equal basic liberties
18
Q

Examples of equal liberty principles

A
  • political liberty (right to vote and to hold public office) and freedom of assembly,
  • liberty of conscience and freedom of thought,
  • freedom of person,
  • the right to hold personal and property,
  • freedom from arbitrary arrest and seizure
19
Q

“Social and economic inequalities are to be arranged so that they are both

applies to the distribution of income and wealth and to the design of organizations that make use of differences in authority and responsibility

A

Difference Principle

20
Q

“Social and economic inequalities are to be arranged so that they are both

A

a) reasonably expected to be to everyone’s advantage and

b) attached to positions and offices open to all” (60)

21
Q

Why difference principle?

A
  • Well-being and a satisfactory life depends on cooperation
  • Advantages should be distributed so that everyone is willing to cooperate in the system, including those the least well off
22
Q

Results in general conception of justice;

A
  • “all social values- liberty and opportunity, income and wealth, and the social bases of self-respect- are to be distributed equally unless an unequal distribution of any, or all, of these values is to everyone’s advantage” (62)
  • Start with everything equally distributed, then any inequality must be justified by making everyone better off than they would be this hypothetical starting situation
  • First principle takes priority, it cannot be compromised to fulfill the second
  • Injustice is defined as inequalities that are not to the benefits of all
23
Q

Rawls’ Difference Principle:

A
  • “all social values- liberty and opportunity, income and wealth, and the social bases of self-respect- are to be distributed equally unless an unequal distribution of any, or all, of these values is to everyone’s advantage” (62)
24
Q

Nozick is committed to a Libertarian approach

A
  • “the minimal state is the most extensive state that can be justified” (393)
25
Q
  • “the minimal state is the most extensive state that can be justified” (393)
A
  • only the smallest government, with minimal regulations and power
  • generally, the government should only be concerned with security
  • Government should not be involved in distribution, and especially not redistribution
26
Q

Three principles of justice

A
  1. Principle of justice in acquisition
  2. Principle of justice in transfer
  3. Principle for the rectification of injustice
27
Q

This is how people end up “owning” or acquiring things in the first place

It is just if it something like mixing one’s labor with things that are held in common

A

Principle of justice in acquisition

28
Q
  • Determines “the transfer of holdings from one person to another”
  • A transfer is just if and only if it is voluntary
A

Principle of justice in transfer

29
Q
  • Some situations of transfer and acquisition are unjust: theft, fraud
  • If that happens, must try to estimate what would have happened if the injustice hadn’t taken place
  • Then, must fix the situation to make it how it would have been if the situation had been just
A

Principle for the rectification of injustice

30
Q

The entitlement theory of justice

A
  • A person who acquires a holding in accordance with the principle of justice in acquisition is entitled to that holding
  • A person who acquires a holding in accordance with the principle of justice in transfer, from someone else entitled to the hold, is entitled to the holding
  • No one is entitled to a holding except by repeated applications of 1 and 2
  • Justice is about entitlements, and everyone having what they are entitled to
31
Q

Still has a principle of distributive justice:

A
  • “a distribution is just if everyone is entitled to the holdings they possess under the distribution”
32
Q

“A distribution is just if everyone is entitled to the holdings they possess under the distribution”

A
  • if a holding is acquired justly, and transferred justly, then and only then is the person entitled to the holding
  • preservation of justice occurs if just means are used in transfer of holdings
  • if each person’s holdings are just, then the total distribution of holdings is just.
33
Q

Historical principles

A
  • Entitlements depend on what actually happened, not what could have happened or the structure of society
  • “historical principles of justice hold that past circumstances or actions of people can create differential entitlements or differential deserts to things”
34
Q

Entitlements depend on what actually happened, not what could have happened or the structure of society

A
  • looking at the history of the holding to determine whether inequalities remain just
  • inequalities that do not fulfill principles 1 & 2 are not just
  • situations of equality that do not fulfill principles 1 & 2 are not just either
35
Q

Patterned principles

A
  • When people make free choices in their daily lives, it will disrupt patterns of distribution
36
Q

When people make free choices in their daily lives, it will disrupt patterns of distribution

A
  • However, this does not make the new state unjust
  • If the distribution was just, and redistribution was through just means, then even an unequal result is just
  • Any distribution is just if it is freely caused by the right chain of events
37
Q

The Wilt Chamberlain example:

A
  • assume a starting point (D1) where everyone has $50,000
  • Wilt Chamberlain signs a contract that entitles him to 25 cents of every ticket sold to the basketball games he plays
  • if in a season 1 million people attend games he plays in, he will accumulate $250,000
  • This inequality is not unjust
38
Q

If in a season 1 million people attend games he plays in, he will accumulate $250,000

A
  • Everyone else will still have their own shares, and the transfers have fulfilled the principles of justice
  • But Chamberlain has significantly more money than anyone else
39
Q

Objection to Nozick

A
  • Starting with individual choice ignores the real history of our actual world
  • Principle of Rectification of injustice, there is no attention or guidance on how to address the results of massive injustices
40
Q

Principles of Rectification of injustice, there is no attention or guidance on how to address the result of massive injustices

A
  • It does consider unjust transfer of holdings such as individual fraud or theft
  • it does not address systematic exploitation leading to inequality, which most people think is unjust
41
Q

It does not address systematic exploitation leading to inequality, which most people think is unjust

A

Examples: Colonization, slavery, etc

PHIL 1100- Final Exam (12 decks)

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