CRITICAL QUESTION

How should the bounty of a society be distributed?

JUSTICE

• DISTRIBUTIVE– Each according to

their need– Each person an equal

share– Each person according

to their right– Each person according

to their effort– Each person according

to their contribution to society

• COMPENSATORY JUSTICE– Compensate people for what they have lost

when wronged by others• RETRIBUTIVE JUSTICE

– Imposition of punishment and penalties on wrong doers

• MATERIAL PRINCIPLE OF JUSTICE– Determines what it means to give a person

their due• EGALITARIAN VIEW

– Each person has an equal claim on society’s goods and services

• LIBERTARIAN VIEW– Each person free to act according to their

own purpose free from coercion of government

RIGHTS

• DIVINE RIGHT OF KINGS– Authority given by God

• NATURAL RIGHTS– Highest form of rights

given by authority higher than society

• LEGAL RIGHTS– Provided by

constitution, legislative enactments, case law or executive order

• ENTITLEMENT– Provided by moral norms or legal system

• NEGATIVE RIGHT– Protects an action from being interfered with by

others• POSITIVE RIGHT

– Provides individual with what they need to pursue freely their interests

• MORAL RIGHT– Moral obligation one has in the treatment of

others

DISTRIBUTIVE JUSTICEJohn Rawls

• What rules constitute a just society?– Liberties are equal to

all citizens

– Rights not subject to political bargaining

– Rights not subject to calculation of other social interests (Anti-Utilitarian)

HOW DO WE CONSTRUCT AT JUST SOCIETY?

• Created out of agreement between free and independent persons.

• Use Veil of Ignorance: A third part brings the people together and states that they are to design a system for the distribution of compensation and sacrifice. They do not know what their starting point will be in that society

WHAT WILL THIS SOCIETY LOOK LIKE?

• Each person will have right to equal access to offices and opportunities

• If there is inequality it will be to the benefit of ALL .• Political Institutions: Based on legality, liberty of

conscious, freedom of though. Equal education, Free choice of professions,

• Economic Institutions: Equal opportunity to engage in commercial activities, fortunate promote well-being of the less fortunate, gifted pay for cost of training and cultivation of their endowments in a way to improve the less fortunate

GOVERNMENT’S ROLE

• Keep markets competitive• Ensure full employment of

resources, property, and wealth• Distribute wealth broadly to

maintain social minimums• Equal opportunity underwritten by

education

THE ENTITLEMENT THEORYRobert Nozick

• The minimal state is the most extensive state that can be justified

• Just Distribution– Arises out of

legitimate means– If acquired through

transfer from another can be held

– No one can hold property except by these means

REDISTRIBUTION OF WEALTH

• HISTORIC: How did the distribution take place (Earned, borrowed or stolen)

• TIME SLICE: Current welfare economics. Justice is determine by who has what and who needs what

• LIBERTY THROUGH VOLUNTARY ACTION WILL OVERTURN ANY IMPOSED SYSTEM OF DISTRIBUTION

COMPLEX EQUALITYMichael Walzer

• How do adjust for difference in– Being, Doing,

Having, Consuming, Identity, Status.

• There is no single best criteria for distribution. Not Markets, Not Government

DOMINANCE SYSTEMS

• ARISTOCRACY – Rule by breeding and intelligence

• DIVINE SUPREMANCY– Know the word of God

• MERITOCRACY– Rule because of talent

• FREE EXCHANGE– Movable Wealth

DOMINANCE IS TRANSITORY

• Pressure to redistribute wealth when to centralized

• Pressure to change based on new ideas

• “Iron Law of Oligarchy- Robert Michels 1915– A society cannot exist

without a dominant class. The overthrow of an elite will lead to the formation of another

REDISTRIBUTION MODEL

• Understand how goods are valued by society• Understand how the good relate to each other• Free Exchange: Money controlled “ultimate

illegal immigrant.”• Desert: Linkage between deserving and the

market• Need: The specific sphere (context) establish

distribution appropriate to context. Piety versus financial rewards.