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Theories of Justice
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Institution
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Theories of Justice 2
Theories of Justice.
John Rawls defines justice in his A Theory of Justice, as the first virtue of social
institutions. A social institution is a human institution, as Aristotle said clearly that we are social
because we are human. These institutions are rated as good or bad, just or unjust, on the basis of
their distribution of benefits and burdens in an appropriate manner in the society to the
individuals. Each and every member has to get what is due to him or her, if the society can be
said to be fair. The demands of justice are therefore the primary role of the theory of justice as a
scholastic field.
Republic. Plato argues that for a just society, both the person and the society have to coexist
harmoniously. To him, justice is doing what is your own. A just society is one that is led by a
philosopher king, the technocrat. It is only a learned person in the relevant field who knows what
is good for the society. This, Plato gives an example of a doctor, when he pauses a challenge that,
whom do people prefer when they fall sick: a popular doctor, or a qualified professional one. The
society, according to him, is divided into three categories of people. The leadership, the military,
and the servants. For a just society, each group must take up their right positions.
rationalizing on its essence. In the euthphro dilemma, the question that is paused is: did God
subjective interpretation, if the rightness is due to the mere fact that God commanded it, then
God reigns supreme and justice is an arbitrary concept. If not, then God is reduced in terms of his
Theories of Justice 3
essence, and thus morality exists on a higher order than God. He thus becomes like a human
The conception of justice as natural law contends that justice is a universal and absolute
concept. What is talked of as morals and all the institutions that propagate and enforces morality,
are merely aimed at codifying in a systematic manner the concept of justice. They have no
bearing on the fundamentals of justice and may even distort the real meaning of the concept. The
caliber of John Locke draws a comparison between the application of justice and the nature of
natural laws. They contend that for any action, there is an opposite but equal reaction, to
maintain a state of equilibrium. The same conception applies in the society, that whatever action
Some section of theorists understands justice to have no innate bearing on human beings.
They believe that justice is just but a creation of the creative human mind, for the sake of
improving cohesion in society, and that people are indoctrinated at their tender age to believe that
there is anything fundamental, divine, or natural about it. In the state of nature, for instance, there
was no practice of justice. The concept has then been taken as a convention, just a noble lie for
Authoritarians like Thomas Hobbes believe that justice is whatever the law says is right,
and the opposite is injustice, whatever the situation or the circumstance. Authoritarians believe
that justice is all but the command of the sovereign. In such a case, some moral provisions may
cross the wrong paths with justice. Once the social contract is brought into place, the sovereign
acquires absolute authority, and his word qualifies as law. A just society is therefore one that
observes the rules of law, and holds is stoic obedient to the sovereign.
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Justice is fairness, or close to that as they are sometimes interchangeably used. However,
there are some small differences. Fairness deals mostly with the consideration of issues and
situations in a manner consistent with impartiality, while justice deals with abiding by the laid
down rules of procedure. In this sense, it is concerned with fair consideration of people, treating
them with kindness, and without any iota of biasness. In the legal sense, the concept means the
Aristotle conceives justice as a virtue. It is imperative that it occurs within a state, as the
state is the primary element on the development of just actions, as well as unjust actions. To be
just is to abide by the laws of the state, and doing otherwise is being unjust. Justice also goes
with fairness. An unfair person is therefore unjust, according to Aristotle. He believed that laws
Justice is a political and social concept that may be given a definition by the person with
whom it is referred to. In the legal perspective, justice is the observance of the rule of law. The
question of whether all law is just is again a controversial issue. This is because laws are made
by a section of society, and may be framed to suit the selfish wishes of that society.
The theories of state attempt at an explanation of how the state came into being, from
pre-state era to the state formation. Before the society was discovered, Thomas Hobbes theorizes
that there was a state of nature, in which life was solitary and brute. Man lived a short, poor and
nasty life. It was a state where man was his own greatest enemy and that there was no order. Life
was so unbearable, and so it was necessary to bring an end to this state of nature.
would be this government that would regulate the behavior of people setting standards of
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behavior and punishing defaulters. This is the only way to save mankind from the conflict of a
To achieve this, it was imperative to come up with a social contract where people would
give authority to a third party, the state, which will be responsible for providing order in society.
The hobbessian model came up with a very powerful animal, the leviathan. It was dictatorial in
nature, and was not responsible to the people. However, in cases where there could be gross
violations of people’s rights, a rebellion could be expected. He did not make any considerations
current state. It was the custodian of sovereignty, and was the sovereignty itself. All individuals
were expected to volunteer all natural rights, for the sake of their protection.
action being measured by the actual consequences. The act should cause more happiness to the
greatest number as an end. The consequences count more than the means. For utilitarians, the
means justifies the end. A just society is therefore one whose laws and practices are meant to
It is not easy to satisfy all human tastes. The world is so diverse, with people of diverse
interests. This theory seems to more populist by advocating for the wishes of the majority being
considered at the expense of the minority. But there is a caution here: the majorities are not
It is also important to note that measuring the utility of an action is not as easy as the
theory puts it. Human beings are not machines that an engineer would tell when it will do what.
The theory therefore fails on this aspect on predictability. For a happy life, human beings must be
accord each member of society an opportunity to pursue his ends. It is also an aspect of
democracy but at an individual level. One has to be left to act as he pleases provided there is no
violation of someone else’s right in the process of another one exercising his rights and
freedoms. Rights libertarians argue that the discretion to use one’s body property is fully
bestowed on the individual in question. It is a violation of the central principle to use force
against others. This does not however include a desire for self defense. To them, use of force for
reasons other than self defense is aimed at ameliorating the real or perceived threat likely from a
competitor. Some theorists here are advocating for the abolition of state for human beings to
enjoy their freedoms to the maximum. Others yet argue that the state should exist to safeguard
The function of the state therefore becomes to protect the interests of its individual
members; to pursue what they think is good for them. This is a just society. John Hospers argues
that every one owns his life, and so should be in control of the life. Human beings are there a
right to act the way they wish, so long as their actions don’t infringe on equal liberties of other
individuals in society. The theory stresses the need of a minimum government, which the
force as immoral. They hold that political as well as economic liberty should be absolute. If the
use of force is to the advantage of a political or economic, then force may be applied
Libertarians believe that the right to life is a mediocrity in a situation where property
ownership is restricted. Hospers argues that the deprivation of people is like depriving someone
the means by which he lives. Property rights are what help in long-range planning. In such a
Theories of Justice 7
case, people should be allowed to own as much property as they can, provided the property is
fairly earned. One can as well own all the means of production, if he can, by use of just means.
The argument is that there is no morale to plan ahead if at the end of the day the hard earned
property is taken away. The need of individuals to acquire and own property is at the heart of
The libertarians have given the possible ways of acquiring wealth. The first is through
acquisition through transfer from the owner to whoever wants to acquire it. The initial owner in
this case must be the legitimate owner. The exchange should be out of an informed consent,
The second way of acquiring is when one gains ownership of a property which is hitherto
not owned. By this it means, mixing one’s labor with the thing, or property being acquired.
Justice as fairness is a theory brought about by John Rawls. It is disturbing that the theory
of utilitarianism has neglected the minority, and so they end up on the receiving in society.
Undue burdens are bestowed upon them in an unfair manner, thus a justification of coming up
The society should be organized in a manner consistent with according people equal
rights. Every individual should have civil liberties to the maximum, but compatible with the
maximum liberty all the others access. In such a scenario then one should responsibly enjoy his
rights.
The theory does not rule out inequality completely. If the inequality works for the benefit
of all, and especially the least well off in society, then it is allowed. It may also be allowed if the
institutions to which the inequality attaches are fairly occupied in terms of opportunity.
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opinions of extreme individualism advocated by the anarchists- the libertarians. They instead
advocate for a system whereby individuals work together in communities. In other words, they
are in favor of civil society movements. The theory argues that the society should consider both
individual and community rights. They support the principles of both social democracy and
The public is the host to values and beliefs in society, and an individual. For any issue to
be taken over by an individual, so the communitarians believe, the issue must have originated
from the society. Every public debate originates from the public then individuals take their
positions on the same issues. The society id the source of morals, and for a society to be said to
be just, it must serve the interests of the individuals as a system, not as individuals.
Another theory of justice hinges on feminism, a standpoint that a just society is that
society that promotes gender balance by paying special attention to matters relating to women, in
all aspects of societal life. The proponents argue that there must be complete restructuring of
society empowering women in the political, social and economic competition. This theory
therefore comes in to address the inequality issue and find plausible solutions. Since many
societies are patriarchal, feminism comes up with a fascinating defense for equal opportunities in
society. The rights feminists are campaigning for range a great deal, in trying to defeat the status
quo. They demand to be left alone to decide on their reproductive rights of abortion and access to
contraception. Other rights include right to own property, legal rights in the civic arena, and a
Feminist thought and activity can be divided into two waves, for the sake of historical
understanding. It began with campaigns aimed at gaining equal rights with men, in the period
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1800 to 1930s. The second phase started in 1960s and has developed a range of different
It is a fact the that women folk have been prejudiced and disenfranchised for quite some
time, yet experience has shown that most women are capable of carrying out functions that were
initially dominated by men. In the contemporary for instance, there are several women who have
performed with distinction in the world. They include ladies like Dr. Condoleezza Rice, the
Secretary of State in the Bush Administration, Prof. Wangari Maathai of the Green Belt
Movement and winner of Nobel Peace Price for her outstanding efforts in the conservation of the
environment, President Allen Johnson Sirleaf of Liberia, Madam Asha Rose Migiro, a Deputy
Secretary General of the United Nations, among other international, national and village women
References
Avineri, S., and de-Shalit, A., (eds), 1992, Communitarianism and Individualism, Oxford:
Clarendon Press
Doppelt, G, 1989, ‘Is Rawls Kantian Liberalism Coherent and Defensible?’ Ethics (July 1989),
pp.820-21
Kymlicka, Will. Contemporary Political Philosophy. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1990.
Rawls, John. A Theory of Justice (revised edition). Cambridge: Harvard University Press,
1999.
William H. Shaw, Business Ethics, Third Edition (Belmont, CA: Wadsworth, 1999)
Young, I. M. Justice and the Politics of Difference, Princeton: Princeton University Press1990