Lecture Notes on Justice

Types of Justice

• Distributive Justice

  • Concerns allocation of society's resources.
  • Examples include:
    • Affirmative action
    • Welfare
    • Free schooling
  • Involves distribution of goods and opportunities.

• Corrective Justice

  • Addresses unfair advantage or undeserved harm.
  • Focuses on remedies or compensations for the injured party.

Key Themes in Justice

• Appropriate allocation of society's goods and interests.
• Types of goods include:
  • Economic goods (income, property)
  • Opportunities for development (education, citizenship)
  • Recognition (honor, status)

Theories of Distributive Justice

• Egalitarian Theories

  • Base premise: equality or equal shares for all.

• Marxist Theories

  • Emphasize need over dessert or entitlement.

• Libertarian Theories

  • Focus on freedom from government interference.
  • Merit, entitlement, and productive contributions are prioritized.

• Utilitarian Theories

  • Aim to maximize benefits for individuals and society.
  • Mixed emphasis on entitlements and needs.

John Rawls' Theory of Justice

• Combines utilitarian and rights-based concepts.

• Proposes equal distribution unless a different distribution benefits the least advantaged.

• Key principles:

  • Equal rights to basic liberties
  • Inequities should benefit the least advantaged
  • Positions and offices should be open to all.

• Veil of Ignorance:

  • A heuristic device used by Rawls.
  • Suggests fair principles of distribution arise when individuals are ignorant of their societal position.

Connection Between Distributive and Corrective Justice

• Socioeconomic status may predict criminal predisposition.
• Consideration of fairness in punishment for poor versus wealthy individuals.