POLS 100 Final

Jeremy Bentham – Introduction to the Principles of Morals and Legislation

• Theory: Utilitarianism

• Main idea: Justice should be judged by consequences, with the right action being the one that produces the greatest happiness for the greatest number.

• Key phrases:

  • “Greatest happiness principle”

  • “The greatest good for the greatest number”

  • “Pleasure and pain govern us”

• Reveals:

  • Justice is based on maximizing overall utility

  • Laws and policies should be judged by consequences, not natural rights or tradition

Garrett Hardin – Tragedy of the Commons

• Theory: Realist / Anti-liberal (critiques pure individual freedom)

• Main idea: Shared resources get overused without regulation

• Key phrases:

  • “Freedom in a commons brings ruin to all”

  • “Each man is locked into a system that compels him to increase his herd”

• Reveals: Individual self-interest leads to collective harm → need regulation

Machiavelli – Discourses on Livy

• Theory: Foreign Policy Realism / Republican realism

• Main idea: Stable states require power, conflict, and strong institutions

• Key phrases:

  • “Conflict between the people and the elites preserves liberty”

  • “Good laws come from good arms”

• Reveals:

  • Politics is driven by power and conflict, not morality

  • Disorder and struggle can strengthen a republic

  • Justice is tied to maintaining power and stability, not fairness

Hans Morgenthau – Politics Among Nations

• Theory: Foreign Policy Realism

• Main idea: International politics is driven by power and national interest

• Key phrases:

  • “Interest defined in terms of power”

  • “Politics is governed by objective laws rooted in human nature”

• Reveals:

  • States act rationally to maximize power and survive

  • Morality is secondary to national interest

  • Justice is not universal—it's shaped by power dynamics

Torture / Moral Exception Debate - Leo Strauss

• Theory: Realist (moral exceptionalism)

• Main idea: Extreme situations may justify actions normally considered immoral

• Key phrases:

  • “Extraordinary circumstances may require extraordinary measures”

  • “The survival of the state can override moral rules”

• Reveals:

  • Moral rules are not absolute in crisis situations

  • Justice can be overridden for security and survival

  • Tension between ethics and necessity

Dershowitz – Torture Warrant

• Theory: Proceduralist (legal regulation of moral exception)

• Main idea: If torture is ever used, it should be legally authorized and regulated

• Key phrases:

  • “Torture warrants”

  • “Better to regulate than to ignore reality”

• Reveals:

  • Tries to control moral wrongdoing through law rather than deny it

  • Justice = transparency + procedural limits even in extreme cases

  • Focus is on legal accountability, not moral purity

Virtue / Character Traditions - Aristotle – Politics

• Theory: Virtue / Character Tradition

• Main idea: Politics exists to cultivate virtue and help citizens live well; the good state promotes human flourishing, not just order or rights.

• Key phrases:

  • “Man is by nature a political animal”

  • “The purpose of the polis is the good life”

• Reveals:

  • Justice is tied to cultivating virtue and moral character

  • The political community should aim at the common good

  • Freedom is connected to participating in civic life and developing excellence

Franklin – Autobiography

• Self-discipline, hard work

• Self-made success

Emerson – Self-Reliance

• Individualism, independence

• Trust yourself over society

Stanton – Seneca Falls

• Women’s rights, equality critique

• Challenge patriarchy

Douglass – Self-Made Man

• Theory:
  Meritocratic / Individual Self-Making

  Main idea:
  Individuals can rise through hard work, discipline, and perseverance, shaping their own success despite obstacles.

  Key phrases:

  • “Self-made men”

  • “Work, perseverance, and self-reliance”

  • “No such thing as a man entirely self-made”

  • “Opportunity must exist, but effort matters most”

  Reveals:

  • Success is strongly tied to individual effort and character

  • Acknowledges that social conditions matter, but do not fully determine outcomes

  • Supports the idea of upward mobility through hard work

  • Reflects optimism about personal agency in achieving success

Nietzsche – Genealogy of Morality

• Theory: Critique of Morality / Genealogical Critique

• Main idea: Moral values are not universal truths but historical creations shaped by power, resentment, and conflict.

• Key phrases:

  • “Master morality and slave morality”

  • “Ressentiment”

  • “The genealogy of morals”

• Reveals:

  • Justice can reflect power struggles rather than objective truth

  • Moral ideals may emerge from resentment and domination

  • Claims about virtue should be questioned as historically constructed

Religious AI Ethics

• AI must respect human dignity / divine limits

• Concern about creation without moral authority

Spot it:
→ religion + technology ethics

Kantian Ethics

Immanuel Kant – Groundwork

• Duty-based morality

• Categorical imperative

• Never use people as means

Spot it:
→ universal rule test

Liberalism - John Stuart Mill – On Liberty

• Theory:
  Liberalism

  Main idea:
  Individuals should have maximum freedom to think and act as they choose, as long as they do not harm others.

  Key phrases:

  • “Harm principle”

  • “Over himself… the individual is sovereign”

  • “Freedom of thought and discussion”

  • “Tyranny of the majority”

  Reveals:

  • Protecting individual liberty is essential for a just society

  • Free speech is necessary for truth and progress

  • Society can be as oppressive as government

  • Limits on freedom are only justified to prevent harm to others

John Locke – Second Treatise

• Natural rights: life, liberty, property

• Government by consent

Isaiah Berlin – Two Concepts of Liberty

• Negative liberty (freedom from interference)

• Positive liberty (self-mastery)

Friedman – Capitalism and Freedom

• Free markets = freedom

• Limited government

FDR – Commonwealth Club Address

• Theory:
  Modern Liberalism / Social Welfare Liberalism

  Main idea:
  True freedom requires economic security; government must actively regulate the economy and protect citizens from inequality and concentrated wealth.

  Key phrases:

  • “Necessitous men are not free men”

  • “Equality of opportunity has limits”

  • “Government as a steward of the public welfare”

  • “Economic power threatens political freedom”

  Reveals:

  • Freedom is not just political—it depends on economic conditions

  • Government intervention is necessary to ensure fairness and stability

  • Unchecked capitalism can undermine democracy

  • Shifts liberalism toward supporting welfare and regulation

Rawls / Justice Theory - John Rawls – A Theory of Justice

• Veil of ignorance

• Fair equality

• Difference principle

Critical Theory - Mills – The Racial Contract

• Racism is built into political systems

• Contract theory excludes non-white people

Pateman – The Sexual Contract

• Patriarchy built into social contract

• Gendered inequality is structural

Nussbaum – Sex and Social Justice

• Capability approach

• Focus on human flourishing

Classical / Republican / Socialist / State Theory - Jean-Jacques Rousseau – Social Contract

• General will

• Collective freedom

Pettit – Republicanism

• Freedom = non-domination

• Not being controlled arbitrarily

Arrow – Cautious Case for Socialism

• Some socialist planning justified

• Market limits acknowledged

Marx & Engels – Communist Manifesto

• Class struggle

• Capitalism exploitation

• Revolution

Arendt – Origins of Totalitarianism

• Mass society enables authoritarianism

• Loss of political freedom

Law / Constitutional Theory - Fuller – Morality of Law

• Law must be consistent, public, predictable

• “Inner morality of law”

Douglass – Constitution & Slavery

• Constitution can be anti-slavery interpreted

• Justice depends on interpretation

Kennedy – Obergefell

• Constitutional rights evolve

• Marriage equality

Scalia – Originalism

• Constitution = original meaning

• Judges should not reinterpret

Power / war? →

Morgenthau / Machiavell

Rights / freedom? →

Locke / Mill

Duty / universal rule? →

Kant

Equality / fairness design? →

Rawls

Class struggle? →

Marx

Identity oppression? →

Mills / Pateman

(Utiltarism)

Ultimate good: Greatest happiness (utility)

Assumptions: Humans seek pleasure/avoid pain; outcomes matter most

Passages:

“Greatest happiness principle”

“Actions are right if they promote happiness”

“Pleasure and absence of pain are the only desirable ends”

“Utility determines morality”

Reveals: Justice is outcome-based; individual rights can be sacrificed for total happiness

Foreign Policy Realist

• Ultimate good: Power, survival

• Assumptions: Humans/states are self-interested; world is anarchic

• Passages:

  • “Strong do what they can…”

  • “Politics is struggle for power”

  • “Interest = power”

• Reveals: Justice is secondary to survival

Meritocratic

• Ultimate good: Rewarding merit

• Assumptions: Success comes from effort/talent

• Passages:

  • “To each according to merit”

  • “Equal opportunity”

  • “Hard work leads to success”

• Reveals: Inequality is justified if earned

Theological

• Ultimate good: God’s will

• Assumptions: Humans need divine guidance

• Passages:

  • “Authority comes from God”

  • “Divine law is just law”

  • “Human law reflects God’s law”

• Reveals: Justice is defined by religion

Deontological

• Ultimate good: Moral duty

• Assumptions: Actions are right/wrong regardless of outcomes

• Passages:

  • “Duty over consequences”

  • “Moral rules must be followed”

  • “Right is independent of good”

• Reveals: Justice = rule-based ethics

Liberal (J.S. Mill)

• Ultimate good: Individual liberty + happiness

• Assumptions: People should be free unless harming others

• Passages:

  • “Harm principle”

  • “Over himself… the individual is sovereign”

  • “Liberty promotes progress”

• Reveals: Justice = freedom with minimal interference

Liberal (Lockean)

• Ultimate good: Natural rights

• Assumptions: Humans are free and equal

• Passages:

  • “Life, liberty, property”

  • “Consent of the governed”

  • “Government protects rights”

• Reveals: Justice = protecting rights

Liberal (Rawlsian)

• Ultimate good: Fairness

• Assumptions: People choose fairness behind ignorance

• Passages:

  • “Veil of ignorance”

  • “Equal liberties”

  • “Difference principle”

• Reveals: Inequality must benefit worst-off

Communitarian

• Ultimate good: Community values

• Assumptions: Identity shaped by society

• Passages:

  • “Self is embedded in community”

  • “Shared values define justice”

  • “Tradition matters”

• Reveals: Justice depends on community

Critical Feminist / Race

• Ultimate good: Equality (gender + race)

• Assumptions: Oppression is structural

• Passages:

  • “Personal is political”

  • “Racism is ordinary”

  • “Law is not neutral”

• Reveals: Justice requires systemic change

Republican (Rousseau)

• Ultimate good: General will

• Assumptions: People can pursue common good

• Passages:

  • “General will”

  • “Man is born free…”

  • “Popular sovereignty”

• Reveals: Justice = collective self-rule

Socialist

• Ultimate good: Equality

• Assumptions: Economy shapes inequality

• Passages:

  • “Reduce inequality”

  • “Redistribution”

  • “Critique of capitalism”

• Reveals: Justice = economic fairness

Communist

• Ultimate good: Classless society

• Assumptions: Class struggle drives history

• Passages:

  • “Workers unite”

  • “Abolish private property”

  • “According to need”

• Reveals: Justice = elimination of class

Procedural

• Ultimate good: Fair procedures

• Assumptions: Fair process = legitimate outcomes

• Passages:

  • “Fair rules”

  • “Neutral procedures”

  • “Impartiality”

• Reveals: Justice = process, not results

Kantian

1. Ultimate good: Moral duty, rational dignity

2. Assumptions: Humans are rational moral agents

3. Passages:

   • “Universal law”

   • “Treat people as ends”

   • “Duty over consequences”

   • “Autonomy of reason”

4. Reveals: Justice is rule-based and respects human dignity