Transcript LD Rights
2012 GMU DEBATE INSTITTUE Plato Justice People seeking office inevitably become corrupt and compromise values Reformation of society— Top-level government reform— experts, intelligence, and government officials. Emphasis of ethical theory/importance of philosophy in connection with the government and politics. (Virtue is a type of Knowledge) Ideal State: a government system based on genuine knowledge of the Good—one who knows about Good will never do anything evil. (Not necessarily democracy) Plato The Republic Natural standards of goodness for a State and for an individual citizen of a state. Citizens are essentially same as a state shows what a just individual is and what the value of moral justices is. Understanding the proper role of the state is crucial— could make good/bad states. Because the similarities, it is easy to find justice. Applications: Courts topic—creation of term limits to make good state. Aristotle Democratic Theory State is a natural institutions—heiarchy—men/women interactions/family/village/families More representation is the best democratic system— majoritarian rights/opinions—Equality good. Paradox: a democratic constitutions but a nondemocratic regime. (Nazism) Aristotle Justice Law abiding, virtuous action=> ideal democracy Equality: each person ought to receive equal respect and possession of goods. Fairness—only accepting burdens that are deemed responsible—justice society requires everyone to abide by that. Rectificatory Justice—justice requires balance of goods when one agent wrongfully takes what belongs to another. Aristotle Rectificatory Justice—justice requires balance of goods when one agent wrongfully takes what belongs to another. Rectification—returning the goods that were stolen to achieve fair balance. (Punishment) All are considered equal Justice requires PUNISHMENT! Hobbes Psychological Egoism—mechanical view of human nature—application of Scientific Revolution— everything is in motion. Every action could be explained by universal law of motion. Emotions are just words to describe things—no meaning to good or bad. Humans are self-interested—desire to better our circumstances Humans are rational—efficient and maximum Hobbes Political Obligation/Social Contract Theory Rational human beings submission to the state for self-interest State of Nature is brutal—no one would cooperate with one another—perpetual warfare and militarism. Social Contract—reasonable agreement that will afford people life. Hegemony/International Relations/Realism Kritiks Locke Different interpretation of State of Nature Argued for the right of citizens to revolt—very influential on the democratic revolutions State of Nature—a perfect and complete liberty, free from interference. People are considered equal—bases the Law of Nature on morality Civil government key to manage conflicts. Importance of private property—protection drives. Rousseau Two social contract theories Naturalized account of the social contract Normative—idealized form of social contract—trying to alleviate problems with modern society. History of the State of Nature Solitary, uncomplicated life/pity/lack of conflicts Growth—comparison/contempt/envy Invention of “private property” constitutes fall of humanity Rousseau Private property—exacerbation of inequality— development of class began—seeking governmental protection. Naturalized social contract—only benefits few individuals as only few people have more private property. State of Nature=social and economic inequalities. Normative social contract—seeking to remedy the social and moral problems. Rousseau Social pact—collective existence—formation of sovereign when free and equal people come together and form a single body. Obligations/reciprocated duties—most direct form of democracy Rawls Neo-Kantian ethics—a reasoning from a universal perspective—moral capacity to judge actions. Moral and political perspective is discovered through impartiality “The Original Positions”=hypothtical situation where we can discover justice. Denied of particular knowledge such as gender, race, and other conditions. Rational humans/lack of knowledge—creates conditions that don’t favorably influence one other universalism. Rawls Two Principles of Justice Determination of civil liberties and goods Much basic liberty/distributed equally. Access to economic justice. First principles must be satisfied first. Marx Capitalist Theory Alienation of labor Economic inequality—exploitation Historical struggle as basis for social change Economics Theory Commodity: defined as a useful external object that can be exchanged in the markets Use-value/Exchange-value Exchange-value is determined by the social labor. Marx Capitalism is unique because it generates PROFITS Necessary labor—4 hrs to produce=valuable laor.