Social Justice

Question 1

concept is

Answer 1

a general structure that encapsulates different things

Question 2

conception is

Answer 2

a specification that concept obtained by filling out a detail

Question 3

difference between good and right

Answer 3

good refers to an end, while right refers to the procedures and means.

Question 4

justice as fairness is the idea that

Answer 4

justice is achieved when everyone has access to basic liberties and socio-economic arrangements always benefits the worst off.

Question 5

difference principle is the idea that

Answer 5

inequalities should be arranged so that they benefit the worst-off people.

Question 6

original position is the position in which

Answer 6

a person has no ascriptive characteristics like race, gender, or nationality

Question 7

veil of ignorance is the principle that

Answer 7

individuals in the original position are unaware of their personal characteristics

Question 8

procedural mechanisms are

Answer 8

procedures that are used to determine the fair distribution of social goods- fairness is also about using the right procedures, not just outcomes!

Question 9

what are the 3 principles of justice

Answer 9

1. basic equal liberties
2. no discrimination and equality of opportunity
3. the maximin principle

Question 10

justice as entitlement is the idea that (nozick)

Answer 10

justice begins with protecting ones holdings & freedom is being able to decide what to do with one’s holdings.

Question 11

libertarianism

Answer 11

advocates for minimal government internvention in social and economic affairs

Question 12

imperfect procedural justice is

Answer 12

when even if there’s a correct outcome, there may not be a procedure that guarantees it.

Question 13

pure procedural justice is

Answer 13

when the outcome isn’t influenced by arbitrary forces like power, or chance. (e.g veil of ignorance)

Question 14

what’s a problem with procedural justice? (hint: its about hypothetical consent)

Answer 14

in procedural justice, people focus too much on hypothetical consent, and don’t pay attention to actual consent. for example, if a poor person sells their land to a rich person without realizing how much its really worth, that’s not really fair.

Question 15

objection to rawls- risk aversion

Answer 15

why would we assume that people would be careful in thier standing- rawls wrongly assumes that people are rational, and cautious

Question 16

objection to rawls- the priority of liberty

Answer 16

some pay prefer to trade off basic liberties for the sake of economic gains.

Question 17

objection to rawls- redistribution

Answer 17

the veil of ignorance justifies massive redistribution. without inequalities people will have no incentive to do one job rather than another- hence no incentive to do work that’s useful to society.

Question 18

objection to rawls- hypothetical contract

Answer 18

the idea of a contract is too abstract and doesn’t provide a concrete plan for how to implement these principles. also, its impossible to get everyone to agree on a set of principles of justice.

Question 19

objections to rawls- egoism

Answer 19

rawls reinforces the misunderstanding that humans are egoistic.

Question 20

objection to rawls- the private sphere

Answer 20

rawls looks at how we should reorganize the public sphere (what we owe each other as citizens) but this ultimately disenfrenchasises women because the structural abuses in the private sphere aren’t a part of justice.

Question 21

objections to rawls *6)

Answer 21

1. risk aversion
2. priority of liberty
3. redistribution
4. hypothetical contract
5. egoism
6. the private sphere

Question 22

3 ways to earn something legitimately

Answer 22

1. acquisition- uninhabited lands being acquired
2. transfer- assuming all transfers are voluntary (the market)
3. rectification: if a transfer is considered unjust, then its the responsibility of society to redistribute resouces back to their rightful owners.

Question 23

critiques of nozick’s view of owning property

Question 24

critique of nozick (3)

Answer 24

1. minimal state isn’t enough to protect citizens from certain types of harm
2. nozick’s emphasis on individual rights ignores important social and collective goods that can’t be achieved by individuals alone.
3. his argument justifies radical inequality

Question 25

what’s nozicks entitlement theory aka justice in holdings?

Answer 25

individuals have a right to acquire and transfer holdings (i.e., property and assets) as they see fit, as long as those holdings were acquired justly.

Question 26

compare rawls & nozick in terms of procedural mechanisms

Answer 26

reawls thinks having fair and unbiased procedures is importan, and nozick thinks the role of the state is to protect against unjust infringements- and that’s it

Question 27

what’s the idea of justice as desert

Answer 27

people should get what they deserve- it also follows hte logic of the amrkets- thus hard work and talent are rewarded
- associated with meritocracy.

Question 28

what’s the problem with justice as desert?

Answer 28

its unfair to only reward natural talents via the market because they don’t make sense from a moral pov.

Question 29

do rawls and nozick rely on justice as desert?

Answer 29

NO

Question 30

what are the consequences of rawls’ claims on social vs. global justice (2)

Answer 30

cosmopolitanism & statism

Question 31

what are cosmopolitanism and statism?

Answer 31

cosmopolitanism and tatism are implications of the view that justice is desert.
- cosmopolitanism argues that all humans are fundamentally equal and deserve to live in just societies, and therefore we should defend liberties without regards to borders.

• statism argues that we owe more to our co-nationals than to people in other countries.

Question 32

what’s hayek’s idea of social justice

Answer 32

the idea of social justice is a category mistake- you can’t say society is something, society isn’t an agent that can be just or unjust.
- coercive redistribution by the state is unjustifiable

Question 33

how does rawls disagree with justice as desert?

Answer 33

rawls thinks luck plays a significant role in determining people’s earning potential.