Political Thought Final Exam

Normative

how the world ought to be; more philosophical; what political theory concerns itself with

Empirical

more scientific; how is the world?

Deductive reasoning

general principles applied to particulars

Inductive reasoning

particulars applied to generality

Dialectic

going between particulars and generalities

Justice

“base structure of society;” public rules that dictate interactions between citizens in a society

Consequentialism

rightness or wrongness of an action is determined solely by its results or outcomes

Utilitarianism

encourages actions that lead to the greatest pleasure (good) and least amount of pain for the greatest number of individuals

Utility

the proclivity to seek pleasure and avoid pain; measured by intensity and duration

Jeremy Bentham

founder of utilitarianism; “it is the greatest happiness of the greatest number that is the measure of right and wrong”

Characteristics of utilitarianism

scientific; consequentialist; egalitarian (each individual’s pleasures and pains count the same); majoritarian?; requires impartiality; nonjudgmental; maximizing

Objections to utilitarianism

individual rights appear nonexistent; common currency of value—commensurability (single scale on which to measure the value of things; too demanding (requires us to known more than we know + morally); distorts moral deliberation (seems to miss the point on what makes certain things right and wrong)

John Stuart Mill

reimagined utilitarianism; happiness is best pursued over the long term, and engaging in activities that are worthwhile and develop your character is better for you in the long run; you have to look beyond utilitarianism to determine how to live your life

Higher vs. lower pleasures

higher pleasures build your character, expand your horizons; lower pleasures don’t but they’re fun; Shakespeare vs. the Simpsons, Socrates unsatisfied vs a pig satisfied

Act vs rule utilitarianism

you can’t always calculate utility, there just isn’t enough time; just act in conventionally moral ways, and then you’re promoting utilitarianism unintentionally

The harm principle

you can harm your own self interest, but people are only entitled to intervene when your actions start harming others

Paternalism

thinking you know someone’s interests better than they themselves know; the harm principle is anti-paternalistic

Utilitarianism and freedom of speech

false doctrines shouldn’t be suppressed because they perform a useful function by requiring people to defend what they take to be true; suppressing a doctrine presumes infallibility, as that doctrine may be true; no statement can inflict the revenant kind of harm that would section suppression of an idea under the harm principle

Peter Singer

moral philosopher who says we are morally obligated to donate to international aid agencies; if we can prevent something very bad from happening without sacrificing anything morally significant, we are morally obligated to do so

John Locke

philosopher widely regarded as the most influential of the Enlightenment thinkers and commonly known as the “father of liberalism”

Classical liberalism

New way of thinking about relationships between individuals and the government; emphasizes individual liberty, private property, limited government, and free-market capitalism

Locke’s state of nature

where humans live without any government or laws; moral and relatively peaceful; crime will happen, and the victim is able to punish the perpetrator or seek reparations (sometimes with help from a third party)

Social contract

implicit agreement within a society in which individuals voluntarily surrender certain natural freedoms and rights in exchange for the state’s protection, social order, and collective good

Self-ownership

we own our bodies, including the labor we complete with it

Locke’s notion of property

when you apply your labor to something unclaimed or held in common, it becomes yours; labor is the main contributor to the value of something (labor theory of value = private property); limitations: leave as much and as good for others, take only what you need, and take only what you mix your labor with; you can use money to hire people to do the labor for you

Robert Nozick

libertarian philosopher who championed a minimal state where individual rights are paramount; rejected wealth redistribution and argued that people have absolute ownership over themselves

Libertarianism

individual liberty is the supreme political value; individuals own themselves and have the right to live their lives, manage their property, and associate with whoever they want to, so long as they don’t physically harm or infringe upon the rights of others; extremely limited government + free-market capitalism

Milton and Rose Friedman

champion classical liberalism and free-market capitalism; discourage equality of outcome, as it provides no incentives to work, is incompatible with liberty, and undermines respect for the law; use free markets instead, which benefit everyone; philanthropy instead of social safety nets; sources of inequality include natural talent and secret advantages; “life isn’t fair”

Objections to libertarianism

taxation is not as bad as forced labor; the poor need the money more; owe debts to those who contribute to your success; democracy (social contract); luck

Limits to markets

certain things cannot be bought and sold in a market; volunteer armies are unfair and seem to make a commodity of something that should be a civic duty; surrogate motherhood is degrading and results from tainted consent

Social contract theory

even if we can’t actually consent to being a member of scout, we should still try (under the right conditions) to contract a society that we’d all be willing to live in

John Rawls

philosopher who came up with the original position and the veil of ignorance; “justice as fairness”

The original position

a hypothetical thought experiment where people must come together to design the basic rules of a fair society; those operating under this must know the “circumstances of justice,” like scarcity and general facts about society

Sources of distortion in actual deliberations

ideology, culture, self-interest, social position, power

The veil of ignorance

philosophical device that deprives us of the information that produces bias in moral deliberations (race, gender, class, wealth, abilities); because no one knows who they will be in this new society, they will rationally choose rules that are far and protective for everyone, even the most vulnerable

Sandel and consent

consent is neither necessary nor sufficient for obligation

Difference principle

any social or economic inequalities (such as differences in wealth, power, or opportunity) are only considered just if they actively benefit the least advantaged members of society; introduced by Rawls

Objections to the difference principle

effort and incentives

Arguments in favor of affirmative action

correcting for bias in standardized testing, compensating for past wrongs, and promoting diversity

Objections to affirmative action

affirmative action is unlikely to achieve its aims (damage self-esteem of minority students, provoke resentments among white students, etc.), using rare or ethnicity as a factor in admissions is unfair

Ronald Dworkin

legal philosopher who strongly supported affirmative action, claiming it is a crucial, forward-looking policy

Telos

goal, end purpose of something; justice often involves merit, virtue, honor, desert

Aristotle

ancient Greek philosopher who championed virtue ethics and viewed the universe as an interconnected organism where everything has a specific purpose

Communitarianism

social and political philosophy emphasizing that human identities and moral values are deeply shaped by community relationships

Desert

the concept of being morally deserving of a reward or punishment

Michael Walzer

argued that states have a moral right to control their borders and restrict immigration to preserve themselves as distinct “communities of character;” longtime residents, such as guest workers, should be offered a pathway to citizenship

Neighborhoods vs clubs vs families

states are not like neighborhoods, which are only loosely associated, geographically bound areas that people move in and out of freely; clubs are most like states, as they are voluntary associations whose existing members get to vote on who is admitted and who is excluded; states act like families when it comes to national or ethnic relatives, as they have a moral duty to admit people who share historical, ethnic, or familial ties with citizens (family reunification policies, refugees)

Unchosen duties

nonconsensual, particular; based on membership, relationships

Pluralistic society

diverse community where multiple distinct groups, culture, religions, and viewpoints coexist in relative harmony; philosophers like Rawls believe that the conception of justice regulating the society should be independent of conflicting philosophical and religious views so that a fair basic of cooperation is provided among people who disagree with each other on many important issues

Michael Kinsley

proposed privatizing marriage, meaning the state would no longer sanction, endorse, or grant special rights to any unions, leaving the practice strictly to private entities, churches, and individuals; couples could celebrate their unions in any way they choose, while the government would remain entirely neutral on whether partnerships are considered “worthy” of recognition

New politics of the common good

commitment to community service, limiting markets, addressing inequality, promoting solidarity and civic virtue