THEORIES OF (DISTRIBUTIVE) JUSTICE WHAT, FOR WHOM AND WHY? Kadri Simm, Institute of Philosophy and Semiotics University of Tartu May 22, 2014 in Tallinn
CONTENTS What is justice - some definitions and central questions from philosophy So what do we do with all this theory? Some attempts at application via John Rawls and Martha Nussbaum Instead of conclusion
JUSTICE FOCUS ON: Distributive justice / social justice Leave aside other types of justice (rectificatory, retributive)
WHAT IS JUSTICE? Aristotle - equals should be treated equally and unequals unequally. Plato - to each his/her due Marx from each according to his ability, to each according to his need Rawls Principles of justice pertain to the assigning of rights and duties and to the distribution of benefits and burdens of social cooperation.
DISTRIBUTION OF WHAT, BY WHOM, WHERE AND BASED ON WHAT? What are the benefits and burdens to be socially distributed? Rights, duties, services (medicine, education), honours and dishonours, privileges, support etc Who is distributing them? The state, NGO sector, for-profit sector(+various combinations). Distributed where? Local government territories, nation-states, supra-national or even global distribution.
DISTRIBUTION BASED ON WHAT? DESERT distribution is based on what people deserve. EQUALITY classical liberal principle of each accounting for one. NEED distribution is based on what people need.
SO WHAT TO DO WITH ALL THIS THEORY? Problems for theory (J Wolff): No interest in application No interest in compromise In policy areas there is overwhelming support for status quo
Principles of distributive justice are therefore best thought of as providing moral guidance for the political processes and structures that affect the distribution of economic benefits and burdens in societies. (Stanford Enc of Philosophy)
JOHN RAWLS Principles of justice pertain to the assigning of rights and duties and to the distribution of benefits and burdens of social cooperation. Justice as the most important characteristic of social institutions and practices Justice as an agreement of rational egoists who are interested in cooperation.
RAWLS. PRINCIPLES OF JUSTICE 1: Each person has the same indefeasible claim to a fully adequate scheme of equal basic liberties, which scheme is compatible with the same scheme of liberties for all; 2: Social and economic inequalities are to satisfy two conditions: They are to be attached to offices and positions open to all under conditions of fair equality of opportunity; They are to be to the greatest benefit of the leastadvantaged members of society (the difference principle). (JF, 42 43)
CAPABILITIES APPROACH Martha Nussbaum and Amartya Sen Starting point Aristotelian teleology. In cooperation with Amartya Sen Nussbaum has worked out the so-called capabilities approach that allows for the evaluation of social policies as they either support or hinder the development of certain capabilities for their subjects. These are standards against which policies can and should be judged.
MARTHA NUSSBAUM (ALSO AMARTYA SEN) The idea is that once we identify a group of especially important functions in human life, we are then in a position to ask what social and political institutions are doing about them. Are they giving people what they need in order to be capable of functioning in all these human ways? And are they doing this in a minimal way, or are they making it possible for citizens to function well? (Nussbaum 1992:214)
LIST OF HUMAN CAPABILITIES Mortality The human body Capacity for pleasure and pain Cognitive capability Being able to have attachments to things and persons outside ourselves Practical reason Being able to live for and with others Relatedness to other species and to nature Humor and play Being able to live one's on life and nobody else's
PRINCIPLES OF JUSTICE AND THE KINDERGARTEN PLACES EQUALITY cheap to manage, fairly transparent, equal starting point (in some sense) NEED assessment needed (expensive to manage), decision criteria, less transparent, outcomes potentially problematic DESERT linked up with need? For institutional kindergartens?
APPLICABLE SOCIAL POLICY GOALS We want lots of children We want women to actively participate in labour market We want social inequalities contained Goals\PRINCIPLES EQUALITY NEED More children Women employed Social equality x x x