Week 10 reading :

From social justice to global justice

Topic: the development and future theory of social justice

Core: Reciprocity.

I
1. Concepts of justice
1.  The foundation of social justice: All human beings are equal in
worth.
2.  Three ideas of social justice: The wealth and abilities of
individuals are social products (social construction).  Principle of
need.  Justice as fairness.
3.  Principle of desert (negative example, rejected) is a exception of
social construction: Good should be praised, evil should be
punished.  
4.  Principle of need
5.  Justice as fairness
6.  Two arguments about the artificialness of justice (neither is
correct): (1) Justice is independent from human thought (like a
tree or physic formulas).  (2) Justice is a subjective construct
that can be formulated in anyway one pleases.
7.  Essence of justice: Justice is a concept, a tool invented and
refined by many different people based on people’s intuitions of
what’s just. Justice is shapable, but not infinitely reinvent-able.

2. Future theory of social justice

1. Core: Reciprocity.
2. Intuitions of justice: Reciprocity. A sensibility for reciprocity in
relations among persons would be a central feature of future
justice theory.
3. Reason: Human beings are considered equal in worth, but not
also equal in capabilities.
4. In transactions between each other, one should give out
requitals that are proportional to one’s capabilities.

3. Global justice
1. The devision between “us” and “them”: Weak countries and
outsiders are not viewed as a part of the traditional justice
systems. (Plato, Thomas Hobbs.)
2. Most problem of injustice: Powerful parties lack of willingness
to engage with weaker parties on terms of reciprocity, and the
absence of any systematic means for correcting unfair
international transactions.