Political theory and law Week 11

Political theory and law JUSTICE

Political theory and law How should we define justice? Everyday understanding of justice Moral aspect ‘Due’ Distribution – Theories of Just distribution

Political theory and law Rawls’s Theory of Justice The Original Position – Veil of Ignorance The Original Position – Motivation Choice of Principles

Political theory and law 1. Everyone serves my interest – I get what I want

Political theory and law 2. Everyone acts fairly except me

Political theory and law 3. Everyone is allowed to advance their interests as they wish

Political theory and law 4. We maximize the aggregate level of goods

Political theory and law 5. We maximize the aggregate level of goods with a minimum level of goods for each individual

Political theory and law 6. We maximize the average level of goods

Political theory and law 7. We maximize the average level of goods with a minimum level of goods for each individual

Political theory and law 8. Certain ways of life are to be privileged because they have greater intrinsic value

Political theory and law 9. We balance a list of prima facie valid principles; we make an intuitive judgement about the correct trade-off between freedom and equality should they conflict

PolITICAL THEORY AND LAW The Democratic Conception – the Two Principles of Justice Equal Liberty Set of basic liberties 1. Equal Opportunity Equal access to jobs and services 2. Difference principle Inequalities are justified only if they benefit the least advantaged members of society.

Political Theory and law Nozick’s Theory of Justice Just Acquisition Just Transfer Rectification

Political theory and Law Cohen’s Marxist Perspective on Distributive Justice Marxist Theory of Ownership, Capital and Exploitation Cohen v. Rawls Cohen v. Nozick