Contemporary Moral Issues (Social Contracts)

Tomasello’s Three-Way Morality

Sympathy for kin, friends, cooperative partners

disposed to to treat deserving others fairly

Shared a sense of obligation to conform and to ensure that others conformed to the conventions, norms, and institutions, of their cultural group.

The Lynchpin of the Declaration of Independence

“A prince, whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a Tyrant is unfit to be a ruler of a free people”

John Locke

“Whensoever[rulers] endeavor to grasp themselves, or put into the hands of any other an absolute power over the lives liberties and the estates of the people…”

Democracy

Mob rule by individuals with no unifying values, tends to degenerate into tyrannies (Julius Caesar used to become dictator for life)

Tyranny

Someone gains power as a “leader of the people” but soon becomes a wolf who terrorizes his real and suspected enemies

Articles of Confederation

adopted during the revolutionary war to provide a framework for the thirteen former colonies to work together, proved to be impractical after the war ended with the treaty of Paris

Constitutional Convention

produced a social contract but the ratification of it was left to the states and their representatives.

Cons of Social Contracts

Reflect the historical conditions under which they were written, and the motives of the authors.

• example: constitution was written by plantation owners, prosperous business men

John Rawls

the ideal social contract is what would emerge from rational contractors behind the “veil of ignorance”

agrees that meritocracy is fairer than utilitarianism and libertarianism BUT “there is no more reason to permit the distribution of income and wealth and natural talent than by historical and social fortune”

Veil of Ignorance

idea that the most fair social contract is written to those that are blind to their own socioeconomic place in the world.

Autocratic

A “Dear Leader” controls everything in your society that the leader can and wishes to control

Feudalism

your rights and opportunities will depend on the social class into which you’re born (class system)

Utilitarianism (Bethamite)

Your rights and opportunities will be subject to what produces the greatest happiness for the greatest number.

(if you happen to belong to a despised minority you might end up being thrown to the lions)

Libertarian

Society will not interfere with your exercise of freedom as long as you don’t infringe on the freedom of others, but neither will assist you in gaining opportunities for success if you happen to be born poor or disabled

Meritocratic

Distribution of income and wealth by the free market is just, but only if everyone has the same opportunity to develop their talents. Society strives to create a level playing field for free competition. If you fail to successful, then that is not society’s responsibility