Rawls - thry of justice
Elements of a social contract account
Original position
Represents ideal circumstances
Where hypothetical contractors
choose principles of Justice
Ppl who have no idea who they'll be/what society/race/$/social status natural assets abilities intelligence/strengths (of their goodness too)/likes/psychological tendencies they're born into
They would choose 2 fundamental principles of JUSTICE
Principle of equal Liberty
& Difference principle
Guiding idea for the basic structure of society
Free and rational ppl who want to further their interests
In defining fundamental terms and restrictions they want when they enter the world
To regulate agreements on
Kinds of social cooperation and forms of government established
Basic rights and duties, division of social benefits,
Rational reflection on what constitutes are good, which ends to rationally pick
Not as a primitive condition of culture or state of affairs
Veil of ignorance
Ensures no one is advantaged or disadvantaged
All in similar position and no one can favor a particular condition
Result of fair agreement or bargain
The appropriate initial status quo
Justice as fairness
Even though Justice and fairness dont mean the same thing
If they come up with the same laws we have
We have a just system
No society has ppl enter who they want to be
They will always be placed in a particular position / society and the nature of this position affects their life
Principles of Justice would help society be as close as it can be to a voluntary scheme
Interests in wealth(economically), Prestige, with opposing spiritual aims (like religion) domination, and no interest in anothers' interests
They wouldn't want to sacrifice less beings for desires
Unlike principle of utility
Incompatible with social cooperation among equals for mutual advantage (ppl talking equally on their interests)
Inconsistent with the idea of a well-ordered society
Requires equality in basic rights and duties
Has social and economic inequalities
If rich person receives money it is only just
They give benefits to least advantaged
Rags to Riches is not right bcuz
It's not just that ppl should have less to prosper
Known as contract theory
To accept certain moral principles
Contract is the condition where appropriate division of advantages must match the principles everyone agrees to
Public must also know these agreed principles
However this is not a complete contract
These principles can be applied to entire ethical system
Principles of virtue and Justice are similar
If justice as fairness suceeds next step would be to study
Rightness as fairness
But this does not embrace all moral relationships
Only human relations not animal and nature relations
Limited scope of Justice
Conceptions of Justice would be ranked
By their acceptability of the ppl they know
Connects with theory of rational choice
A problem of is rational decision has an answer
If we know the party's beliefs, interest, their relations with another, the alternatives they would choose in between, the procedure where they would make up their minds, and so on
Presumptions are natural and reasonable
This is to point out the restrictions needed for finding the principles of Justice
No advantages in genetic fortune / social circumstances/inclinations / aspiration / conceptions of their good affects principles
Purpose: to represent equality between human beings
As moral ppl, who have a conception of the good and capable of sense of justice
Ends wouldn't be ranked
Applying these principles would
Lead to the same judgments about basic structure of society we decide on with confidence
Or offer of resolution we can agree on with reflection
Bcuz we have hesitation and our present judgment are in doubt
Reflective equilibrium
Questions
Religious intolerance and racial discrimination is unjust bcuz
These opinions are fixed points in which the conception of Justice must fit
We need impartial judgment it's not distorted by attention to our own interests
Distribution of wealth and authority
We have to work from both ends
- Describe it so it represents generally shared and preferably weak conditions
- We see if conditions are strong enough to give a set of principles
When we have discrepancies,
We revised existing judgments or modify initial situations
Equilibrium is not stable especially when conditions are further examined
When against something, ppl aren't allowed to use an experience as a reasoning
This lets us envisioned our objectives from afar
Needs to be at everyone's advantage
Offices and positions are open to all
To govern the assignment of Rrghts and duties
& to regulate the distribution of social and economic advantages
Applies to second principle
Basic liberties are right to vote, be eligible for public office, speech, assembly, Liberty of conscious, thought, right to hold personal property, freedom from random arrest and seizure define by law
Excuses to equal Liberty can't be justified or compensated by greater social and economic advantages
All social values are distributed equally
Liberty and opportunity, income and wealth, and bases of self respect
How principles work
- Basic structure of society distributes primary goods (things every rational man wants
Primary goods
Social goods: rights and liberties, powers and opportunities, income and wealth, etc
Natural goods: health and vigor, intelligence and imagination
Influenced by basic structure
Evenly shared: this state of affairs
Provides benchmark for judging improvements
Giving up fundamental liberties
Should be compensated with social and economic gains
No restrictions on inequalities as long as everyone's positions is improved
The number order of principles expresses the preference among primary social goods
Not allowed to use the excuse of high-income or organizational power abt disadvantages in lower means better advantages in so and so
principle of fair opportunity leads to meritocratic society
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Underserved inequalities of birth and natural endowment
Need to be compensated for
Principal is meant to treat all persons equally and provide genuine equality of opportunity
Society must give attention to those with fewer assets and born into lower social positions
Principle of redress
Doesn't expect but handicaps to compete on a fair basis in the same race
But principal would allocate resources in education to improve long-term expectation of least favored
Role of education is to enable ppl to enjoy culture of their society and take part in it's affairs
This would provide ppl an individual secure sense of their own worth
Achieves some of latter principle
Transforms aims of basic structure so institutions don't emphasize social efficacy and technocratic values
Principal represents agreement from distribution of natural talents as a common asset
Those favored by nature gain from their good Fortune
They are not more gifted they have $ to cover costs of training and education that help less fortunate