Theories of Justice - 3826 Words

THEORIES OF JUSTICE INTRODUCTION Justice is action in accordance with the requirements of law. It is suppose to ensure that all members of society receive fair treatment. Issues of justice arise in several different spheres and often play a significant role in causing, enabling, and addressing discord. The goal of the Justice System is to try to resolve and satisfy all these issues for the members of society. Injustice can lead to dissatisfaction, and/or rebellion. The different spheres express the principles of justice and fairness in their own way resulting in different types and concepts of justice. This paper will take a closer look at three justice theories based on our textbook Moral Issues in Business, by William H. Shaw and†¦show more content†¦Does this mean that their decision to vote for Bush was morally right, while those who voted for Kerry was morally wrong? The final question is, were the rights of those who voted for Kerry violated by the will of the majority? Utilitarian theory only states that what is moral is what will bring happiness to the majority. Thus, Utilitarian theory in my view is in direct opposition of individual rights. Libertarian Justice This form of justice promotes liberty, each person living as they please, free from interference of others. Libertarian justice totally rejects utilitarianisms concern for total social well-being. The Libertarian believes that as long as you are not doing something that interferes with anyone elses liberty, then no one including government should disturb you in living the life you choose, regardless of maximizing social happiness. Libertarian justice consists solely out of respect for ones individual liberty. Liberty takes priority over moral concerns. Its obvious from this that a libertarian world, with a complete commitment to individual liberty, would be a much different world then the one we currently live in. (Shaw, Barry, 2004) (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, 2003) One true libertarian was Robert Nozick a Harvard professor, who began with the premise that people have certain basic moral rights, which he referred to as Lockean Rights taken from political philosopher JohnShow MoreRelatedA Theory Of Justice By Rawls1569 Words   |  7 PagesIn Rawls’ book titled A Theory of Justice, Rawls aims to develop a theory of justice that brings new ideas and concepts to the traditional doctrines of philosophy. Rawls’ theory, justice as fairness, wishes to take the ideas of traditional social contract theories to a higher level of abstraction. His theory is thoroughly explained through a pre-societal position called the original position, the notion of the veil of ignorance, and the two principles of justice. Rawls starts out by describingRead MoreSummary Of A Theory Of Justice 1095 Words   |  5 PagesMurillo Philosophy Applied Ethics Professor Jennings 12/2/14 Rawl’s: A Theory of Justice In our modern society where economic resources are gained by paid labor, there is often room for an unequal distribution of wealth. Hence, a laissez fare or â€Å"hands off† approach to the distribution of such economic resources will often case produce problems and inefficiencies in a society. Rawls says in his writing excerpts, â€Å"A Theory of Justice† from the Ethics in Practice textbook that a state ought to enforceRead MoreRawls Theory Of Justice1598 Words   |  7 Pagesconception of justice that serves the social contract theory more generally and abstractly than such social contract theories provided by Locke, Rousseau, and Kant. In contrast to Locke, Rousseau, and Kant, Rawls’ conception of justice does not provide a specific layout for the intricacies and structure of each social institution. His abstract concept of justness, however, provides the foundation from which a just institution must derive. Within Rawls’ theory of justice, he presents the theory of justiceRead MoreUtilitarianism And Justice Theory1396 Words   |  6 Pages Utilitarianism and Justice Theory Jacob Holman Northern Arizona University July 27, 2017 In the history of philosophy and ethics there have been many great philosophers who have come up with theories to understand if a decision is ethical, what rules should be followed to make ethical decisions, and if the results of decisions determine whether the decision is ethical or not. A comparison of Consequentialist theory and Justice theory will show that each have different methods ofRead MoreQuestions On The Theories Of Justice2659 Words   |  11 PagesIn this chapter, I aim to review and survey Karen Lebacqz’s six theories of Justice. This is essential if, as I will show later, these theories of justice will necessarily be implied in the founding documents and covenants of major social institutions in western civilization. Justice: Utility In its most basic definition, utilitarianism argues, â€Å"The right thing to do is to produce the most good.† According to John Stuart Mill, â€Å"‘utility’ or the ‘greatest happiness principle’ requires that actionsRead More A Theory of Justice Essay3836 Words   |  16 PagesA Theory of Justice Communitarian critics of Rawls have argued that his A Theory of Justice provides an inadequate account of individuals in the original position. Michael Sandel, in Liberalism and the Limits of Justice argues that Rawls conception of the person divorces any constitutive attachments that persons might have to their ends. Hence, Sandel asserts that Rawls privileges the standpoint of self-interested individuals at the expense of communal interests. I do not find Sandels specificRead MoreRawls Theory Of Justice1905 Words   |  8 Pages Rawls Theory of Justice Ming Chi Wang 36979110 University of British Columbia John Rawls in his work, â€Å"A Theory of Justice,† aims to make up a theory that will rivals intuitionalists and utilitarianism, which seeks truth in morality that cause results in maximizing utility for the maximum number of people. Rawls’ theory of justice is a distribution theory that maximizes primary goods for the worst outcome an individual could be in. By primary goodsRead MoreA Theory Of Justice By Rawls1317 Words   |  6 PagesIn his book ‘A Theory of Justice’, Rawls was dissatisfied with the traditional philosophical arguments about what makes a social institution just and about what justifies political or social actions and policies. The utilitarian argument holds that societies should pursue the greatest good for the greatest number. This argument has a number of problems, including, especially, that it seems to be consistent with the idea of the tyranny of majorities over minorities. The intuitionist argument holdsRead MoreRawls Theory of J ustice1853 Words   |  8 PagesThe conventional accounts of Justice normally begin by stating a fundamental rule of Aristotle – Justice is to treat equals equally and unequals unequally, and that unequal treatment should be in proportion to the inequality. In everyday life though, justice is seen as an attribute of law, while all laws are not necessarily just. Many great socio- political movements of the world have focused from time to time on unjust laws eg Apartheid laws in South Africa and Caste laws in India. ImpartialityRead MoreA Theory Of Justice By John Rawls Essay909 Words   |  4 Pagesindividuals behind a veil of ignorance would assent to the two primary principles of justice found in Rawls’ ‘A theory of justice’. I will also analyse the extract, in particular debating whether various propositions made by Rawls in this extract are true. Initially it is important to situate the extract of discussion. Section 3 of ‘A theory of justice’ is the opening of Rawls’ argument in ‘A theory of justice’, where he introduces his ‘original position’, stating how rational individuals in a hypothetical