Week 10/11: Justice

Question 1

describe justice

Answer 1

• historically, justice means to give each their due
  
  • people being given what they are owed (ex: housing, money, security)
• types of justice:
  
  • distributive
  • commutative
  • retributive and restorative
  • procedural

Question 2

describe the different types of justice

Answer 2

• distributive justice: to distribute resources equitably and fairly
  
  • how to allocate things to people in society
  • corrective = how to correct past wrongs
  • can think through equality.. people should have equal access to things
  • liberty = freedom
• commutative justice: to have justice in economic exchanges
  
  • justice within contracts (ex: is it fair for low-income workers to have a “no compete” clause in their contracts)
• retributive and restorative justice: to punish fairly
  
  • proportionality of the punishment given to the crime done (equal punishment to the crime done)
  • trying to repair bonds
• procedural justice: to have fair procedures within the legal system
  
  • ex: trial happens in reasonable time frame
  • right to attorney

Question 3

describe ideal and non-ideal theories of justice

Answer 3

• ideal theory of justice: looks at society from a place of neutrality and abstraction
  
  • not historical, understanding history does not matter
  • abstract
  • imagine a hypothetical society and think about what is reasonable for said society
    
    • thinking of society without the history
  • a view of justice that appears everywhere
• non-ideal theory of justice: looks at society in a way that recognizes its particular injustices both past and present
  
  • Charles Mills
  • need to look at the underlying history, must look at the history
• metaethics question: to what extent should history and present inequalities play a constructive role in our thinking about the nature of justice?
  
  • ideal theory says there’s no wrong
  • Rawld treatment of equality is abstract

Question 4

describe social contract theory and justice

Answer 4

• steps:
  
  • state of nature (pre-political society) - society without government
  • social contract: the mutual agreement between society and government on how society is organized
  • civil society (society with government)
    
    • principles of justice
    • constitution
    • social institutions (how should things be organized)
    • day-to-day function of government
• question trying to answer: what makes a government legitimate
  
  • government is representative, so government is legitimate by those under the government
• underlying social contract theory is the idea that government is legitimated by the consent of the governed
  
  • get the power from the people
• Rawls, Nozick, and Mills each look at justice in light of social contract theory, though Mills takes a non-ideal view of justice

Question 5

describe the different views of social contract theory and justice between the different philosophers

Answer 5

• Rawls:
  
  • egalitarian justice
  • equality viewpoint
  • need to answer fundamental pressures of the organization before specifics… first principle is equality
• Nozick:
  
  • libertarian justice
  • liberty should be the first question.. have the freedom to amass well in different ways (most freedom and property liberty)
• Mills:
  
  • corrective justice
  • we can’t make assumptions that everyone starts as equals.. looks at rights
  • there are different racial injustices in different forms

Question 6

describe the original position of Rawls and Justice

Answer 6

• Rawls thinks that social contract theory is all hypothetical, but useful for thinking in way of justice
• original position:
  
  • decide what government is going to look like
  • have to imagine that we don’t know anything about ourselves (veil of ignorance)
• principles of justice:
  
  • equality principle - distribute everything as equal as possible
  • difference principle

Question 7

describe veil of ignorance (Rawls)

Answer 7

• in the original position, parties know only the two following things:
  
  • the conception of the good, but not its content
    
    • want stuff, but don’t know how to get stuff
  • desire to cooperate with others, but no active interest in others

Question 8

describe the first principle of justice (equality)

Answer 8

• each person is to have an equal right to the most extensive basic liberty compatible with a similar liberty for others
• basic liberties: political liberty, freedom of speech and seembly, liberty of conscience, freedom of thought, right to property, legal rights
• liberties exist in a network and the aim is to maximize the greatest number of them within the bounds of equality

Question 9

describe the second principle of justice (difference)

Answer 9

• sometimes ok with inequality as long as it is to everyone’s advantage
• social and economic inequalities are to be arranged so that they are both
  
  • reasonably expected to be to everyone’s advantage
  • attached to positions and offices open to all
• equality and difference principle
  
  • income inequality is ok if it is to everyone’s advantage (tax and transfer)
  • justification at the welfare state
• ex: have different wages, but tax higher for the wealthier

Question 10

describe maximin reasoning

Answer 10

• Rawls thinks that behind the veil of ignorance we will choose the two principles of justice to benefit the least well-off
• maximin reasoning: maximizing the minimum position
  
  • play it safe

Question 11

describe nozick on justice

Answer 11

• the justice of a particular distribution can only be weighted according to:
  
  • principle of just acquisition - if you work for something, you are entitled to it
  • principle of just transfer - can give your money to whoever you want
  • principle of rectification - of money is taken from you, government can pay you back
• we have insecure property rights
• government that secures property