Political Science and International Relations

Distributive Justice. UPSC 2018 Paper 1A Qn 1c Distributive justice is an ethical concept concerned with the fair distribution of resources, benefits, and responsibilities among individuals in a society. To determine the principles of distributive justice, David Miller identified three criteria - Protection of acknowledged rights - The principle of the protection of acknowledged rights gives information about 'hierarchical order'. In this system, people demand the protection of existing rights and they deny the relief to underprivileged sections. Distribution according to desert - Distribution according to desert upholds a competitive market system. It rules out the privilege based on birth and determines one's share of social benefits according to one's contribution to the social good. It allows the owners of private property to multiply their wealth by hiring the physical and mental capacities of the working classes at competitive rates. ...

How has Rawls enriched the idea of justice in liberalism? UPSC 2021 Paper 1A Qn 2a John Rawls's emphasis on minimal state intervention , and priority of justice over utility reflects his commitment to pluralism and neutrality, and his focus on fairness, equality, and moral foundations brought egalitarianism into his concept of justice. His concept of the original position under the veil of ignorance ensured impartiality, as individuals, unaware of their place in society, would adopt principles that guarantee fairness for all. His liberal conception of justice - Justice as fairness - Unlike classical liberalism, which only talks about the protection of individual liberties, Rawls emphasized fairness in the distribution of goods. This led to the introduction of a normative dimension - which says institutions should safeguard individual rights and ensure that inequalities are justifiable. His emphasis on justice over utility ensured that...

Analyze John Rawls's justification of discrimination to achieve the goals of justice. UPSC 2018 Paper 1A Qn 2b John Rawls in his 'A Theory of Justice', addresses the complex relationship between equality, justice, and permissible forms of discrimination. Through his concept of justice, Rawls aims to balance fairness and equality by accommodating differences among individuals in ways that promote social welfare. In Rawlsian theory, justice does not demand strict equality in all social and economic arrangements. His difference principle allows for discrimination and permissible inequalities if they satisfy two conditions - Inequalities must improve the situation of the least advantaged members of the society. Positions associated with these inequalities must be open to all under conditions of fair equality of opportunity, ensuring that all individuals have genuine access to opportunities, irrespective of their background. His difference princi...

John Rawls' difference Principle  John Rawls's difference principle is a subordinate to his Liberty principle. The lexical order of his principles of justice ensures liberties not sacrificed for economic gains. His difference principle works in tandem with fair equality of opportunity to create a framework in which everyone has a chance to succeed and the worst-off are protected from excessive hardship. Difference principle reflects the Rawls's belief that while perfect equality may not be achievable, disparities are acceptable if they incentivize productive activities that benefit everyone, including the poorest members of the society. It embodies equality based reciprocity i.e., inequalities are good for the worst off. However, t he difference principle does not allow the rich to get richer at the expense of poor. Difference principle allows inequalities of wealth and income, so long these will be to everyone's advantage specifically to the advantage of those ...

Entitlement Theory of Justice The entitlement theory of justice, developed by Robert Nozick in his book Anarchy, State and Utopia (1974), offers a libertarian perspective on distributive justice. Nozick challenges redistributive theories of justice by defending minimal state interference. The entitlement theory of justice provides a framework for understanding justice regarding the legitimate acquisition, transfer, and rectification of holdings. Principles of entitlement theory - Justice in Acquisition - Nozick suggests that individuals can claim ownership over previously unowned things if they appropriate them without worsening the condition of others. Justice in Transfer - Nozick emphasizes on the legitimacy of the ownership of transferred property. He says the legitimacy of ownership depends on whether past transfers followed just transfer. He does not emphasize on the distribution of wealth. Justice in Rectification - Nozic...

Greek perspective of Justice emphasizes on the role of virtue, hierarchy and harmony within a structured social order. It emphasized on the individual’s role to establish a just society. In Greek perspective, we will study Plato's and Aristotle's concepts of justice.  Justice evolved as a 'progressive idea'. The modern views of justice seeks to transform society itself for the realization of certain human values. Rawlsian justice system prioritizes fairness and equality (distributive justice) and emphasizes on the state role to establish just and fair conditions for individual to mitigate arbitrary inequalities. A comparative assessment of Greek perspective of Justice to Rawlsian concept of Justice - Concept of Justice -  Richard Lewis Nettleship, in his 'Lectures on the Republic of Plato' (1962), has elucidated, 'Justice in Plato's sense, is the power of individual concentration on duty.' Aristotle is concerned with three types of justice: Dis...

According to Liberal individualism, individuals are free, rational, and capable of self-determination. They believe individual interests are better promoted by letting them choose for themselves what sort of life they want to lead. Michael Sandel in his Liberalism and the Limits of Justice (1982), developed a critique of the liberal individualist foundations of John Rawls's theory of Liberal justice. John Rawls's theory of justice as fairness is a contractarian theory that establishes moral principles for a just society. His theory of justice is based on the idea that free and rational people would agree to the principles of justice to establish an equal grounding for individuals. Michael Sandel criticizes Rawls's notion of disembodied or unencumbered self or subject in opposition to which he advances the notion of the situated self i.e., the self or subject, who is invariably a member of a community. While, for Rawls, the right is prior to good and justice is the first...

Qn. Rawls' theory of justice is both contractual and distributive. Examine. Rawls, in his A Theory of Justice (1971) , considered justice as purely procedural and the first virtue of both the Economic and Social systems. His first principle proposes a contractarian method , which states, "Each person is to have an equal right to the most extensive basic liberties , compatible with a similar liberty for others. Rawls hypothesized the ' original position ' where people in the tradition of the Social Contract  negotiate under a 'Veil of Ignorance'. The point of the metaphor of the veil is to indicate that the parties should remove bias and irrelevancy from their deliberations. The parties understand that they are deciding about principles of justice (principles for distributing certain primary goods - such goods are liberties, opportunities, income, and wealth - to individuals) and they will have to live, for their entire lives, under the principles they have ...