Understanding Justice: Key Concepts and Theories

Key Concepts in Justice

• Synthesis: Summary
• Human Rights: Rights inherent to all human beings
• Rule of Law: All people and institutions are subject to and accountable to law
• Procedural Guarantees: Protections entitling a person to a fair trial and punishment
• Abolition: Elimination
• Impartiality: Not sacrificing justice for personal interests
• Means of Coercion: Means used to ensure justice is not sacrificed for personal interests
• Federation of Free States: A type of political organization in which each state cedes part of its sovereignty to a federal government
• Cosmopolitan Right: A set of rules allowing for socially and ecologically responsible economic development by the state

Political and Ethical Theories

• Liberalism

  This theory promotes civil liberties and opposes any form of despotism. It gives rise to republican principles of democracy, based on representation and the division of powers. It advocates for the development of individual liberties and the establishment of the rule of law, where all people are equal before the law.

• Utilitarianism

  This theory defends that the purpose of human conduct is happiness.

• Marxism

  This theory posits that the priority for achieving a new society should not be the abolition of the state. Marx believed the state would disappear by itself after a long revolutionary process. In the socialist phase, a fair distribution of social goods will be made under the principle "from each according to his ability, to each according to his contribution." The communist phase will be characterized by overabundance of goods and the disappearance of the state.

• Libertarianism (Liberal Theory of Justice)

  This theory holds that a just society should not allow an individual to be deprived of what they have legitimate ownership over. A fair distribution of goods will be possible through fair distribution by legitimate means.

• Egalitarian Liberalism (Liberal Theory of Justice)

  This theory posits that a just society is one that treats its members with equal respect and consideration. A just society is governed by the principles of justice that citizens would choose. Social justice is about ensuring basic rights and freedoms for all.

Mixed Theories

• Walzer's Complex Equality

  The commitment to justice involves a commitment to equality, meaning a separation from unjust domination. Two aspects of complex equality are: there are different criteria for distributing social goods, and a society should avoid having a "dominant good" that allows one to have all the others.

• Habermas's Discourse Ethics

  This theory insists on the ethical principle of mutual recognition of all speakers as persons. It proposes a procedure to establish valid standards in morality and law. A policy will be fair if those affected by it are willing to give their consent in a dialogue.

What is Justice According to...?

• Plato: Social harmony
• Aristotle: Equality and proportionality
• Saint Thomas Aquinas: Enforcing positive law and natural law
• Hobbes, Locke, and Rousseau: Ensuring basic rights and freedoms through a social contract
• Utilitarianism (Mill): Increasing happiness for the greatest number of people
• Socialism: Removing socioeconomic privileges
• Utopian Socialism: Restricting private property without revolution
• Anarchism: Achieving a caring society through self-management and federalism
• Marxism: From each according to his ability, to each according to his needs
• Libertarianism: Not appropriating what each person legitimately owns
• Egalitarian Liberalism: Ensuring freedom and basic rights for all to achieve a decent standard of living
• Walzer: Distributing social goods equally without a dominant good
• Habermas: All speakers are recognized as persons in establishing standards