Areas of Justice
- economic
- criminal
- grading fairness
- playground arguments
- etc.
Types of Justice
- justice As equality - everyone gets the same amount of stuff
- need based justice - get more based on need
- merit based justice
Greek Origins
- harmony - a society in which everyone fulfills their roles to keep society running smoothly
- scales of justice
Utilitarian View
- a just society improves the quality of life for it's citizens
Libertarian View
- a just society allows maximum freedom
Distributive Justice
- should all get the same (justice equality)?
- based on need (does this favor some over others?)
- merit-based (based on what you've done)
- fairness (John Rawls)
John Rawls
- justice is fairness
- need to favor the least well-off (level playing field)
- justice is about correcting natural imbalances
Robert Nozick
- Chamberlain example - more popular basketball player and will attract more so should get paid more
Human Rights?
- shelter, food, healthcare - are these human rights?
- negative rights - others believe there should be no support since all can pursue their own path
- positive rights - a right to health care etc, implies an obligation on others
Punishment
- retributive justice - eye-for-an-eye, a driving force behind capital punishment
- utilitarian view - no benefit in vindictive pain
Utilitarian Options
- rehabilitation - help wrong-doers become better members of society
- deterence - punishment will discourage other potential wrong-doers
- restorative - making amends (e.g. community service) - restoration and forgiveness