Exam 8: Justice

Positive freedom refers to the freedom to realize one's own potential.

For both Locke and Hume, the ultimate criterion of justice was utility, the public interest, and therefore the satisfaction of the interests of at least most of the citizens.

The United States was founded on the thesis that when the state no longer serves its citizens, the citizens have the right to overthrow that government.

Hobbes argued that there was no justice in the state of nature. It came into existence because of society.

Should the products of the labor of the community be shared equally? Or, should those who have worked harder and longer get more? Or, should those whose needs and wants are greater get a larger proportion? Or, should those who are more valuable to the community get more? A sense of natural justice has been appealed to on behalf of every one of these options. There are good arguments pro and con for all of them. Try to list as many as you can.

Which of the following theory of justice focuses on every individual's rights by defending two principles: first, that we all have basic and equal rights, and second, that all inequalities of wealth, health, opportunities, and so forth, are to every individual's advantage?

Concerning the problem of inequality toward blacks in the United States, why did Malcolm X want to change labels from "civil rights" to "human rights"?

The basis of the social contract according to Hobbes was __________.

Recall John Rawls's two principles of justice. Give a short argument detailing how those two principles might be derived from his "original position." Rawls insisted that, for the derivation to work, individuals must be self-interested and rational. Explain why this is so.

The theory of what is called ___________ , the fair distribution of wealth and goods among the members of society, is a current international as well as national concern that owes much to Aristotle's original formulations.