Chapter 8: Social & Political Philosophy

Egalitarians

Egalitarians

________ say there are no relevant differences among people, so all should be treated equally.

full human development

It is necessary for ________ and is the source of the culture and tradition that make us who we are.

Okin

________ argues that the public or nondomestic world where economic and political power is centered, and the private domestic world of the family where women are unequal and psychologically oppressed, have deep and pervasive interconnections that affect women detrimentally.

moderate egalitarianism

Justice as ________ holds that political rights and economic opportunities should be distributed equally but that all other economic benefits and burdens should be distributed according.

Rawls

________ argues that a just government is one we would choose to live under if we chose without knowing whether we would be rich or poor, black or white, and so forth.

Donaldson

________ claims that moral rights must protect things of great importance that are subject to substantial and recurrent threat and must impose fair and affordable obligations.

Pacifism

________ would condemn terrorism as immoral but would not approve using violence in pursuit of terrorists.

Social contract

________ theory tries to justify this power and authority by arguing that citizens have made an agreement or "contract "that gives the state this power.

social contract theory

tries to justify this power and authority by arguing that citizens have made an agreement or “contract” that gives the state this power

Hobbes

held that because humans are selfish and driven by greed, without government life would be a “war of every man against every man” and “solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short.”

Locke

viewed humans as essentially moral beings who ought to obey natural moral rules.

Rousseau

argued that without government, people’s property and security are at risk.

Rawls

argues that a just government is one we would choose to live under if we chose without knowing whether we would be rich or poor, black or white, and so forth.

communitarian critique

argue that social contract theory mistakenly ignores Aristotle’s and Hegel’s claim that government is not an artificial construct but is a natural outgrowth of our social nature

feminists

also argue that social contract theory divides the “public” life of politics and economics, in which men predominate, from the “private” life of the family, where women are confined to labor so that men can participate in public life.

Okin

argues that the public or nondomestic world where economic and political power is centered, and the private domestic world of the family where women are unequal and psychologically oppressed, have deep and pervasive interconnections that affect women detrimentally.

retributive justice

looks at how fair punishments are

distributive justice

looks at how fairly society distributes benefits and burdens

principle of formal justice

people should be treated the same when they are similar in relevant respects and differently when they differ in relevant respects.

Justice as merit

holds that benefits and burdens should be distributed unequally according to people’s ability, effort, achievement, or social status.

justice as strict equality

holds that everyone should have equal shares of society’s benefits and burdens.

egalitarians

say there are no relevant differences among people, so all should be treated equally.

Justice as moderate egalitarianism

holds that political rights and economic opportunities should be distributed equally but that all other economic benefits and burdens should be distributed according \n to the relevant differences among people.

justice as social utility

holds that benefits and burdens should be distributed so as to maximize social benefits and minimize social harms

socialist justice

holds that burdens should be distributed by ability and benefits by need.

Justice in the welfare liberalism

equires equal liberty in society’s political institutions, equal opportunity for desirable jobs and positions, and the difference principle, which says economic inequalities are just only if they produce benefits for the least advantaged.

justice in classical liberalism

holds that equality and maximum liberty are just in the political arena but that economic goods should be distributed as people freely choose to distribute what they make or are given

eternal law

type of law; God’s decrees for the universe

natural law

type of law; the moral law that is based on human nature

human law

type of law; the laws that humans create to govern their societies

Gandhi

argued that one has a right to disobey unjust laws and advocated nonviolent “passive” resistance to unjust laws because using violence to overthrow unjust laws will lead to more violence.

Williams

agreed that unjust laws need not be obeyed, but he argued that violence should be used to deal with unjust laws because nonviolence is ineffective.

tyranny of the majority

the tendency of society to suppress anything it dislikes

nine principles of just war

what is this?

war is morally justified if it is

• (1) declared by a legitimate authority

• (2) fought for a just cause

• (3) fought with a right intention—the intention to achieve the just end and not to inflict needless injuries

• (4) must be fought as a last resort

• (5) when there is a real and certain danger

• (6) a reasonable probability of success

• (7) the end is proportional to the probable harm

jus ad bellum

justice when approaching war

jus in bello

justice when in war

political realism

would not condemn terrorism as immoral, and it would claim that it is not wrong to use any amount of violence to protect a nation’s citizens from terrorists.

pacifism

would condemn terrorism as immoral but would not approve using violence in pursuit of terrorists.

just war theory

would condemn terrorism because it is usually violence that is not authorized by a legitimate authority

just war theory

would approve the use of violence against terrorists only if it adheres to the nine principles of just war