Egalitarian Liberalism: Justice in the Modern State

1
Egalitarian Liberalism Justice in the Modern
State

• John Rawls
• Dr. Schmid, Ph.D.
• Philosophy and Religion, UNCW

2
Ethics and Politics

• Utilitarian greatest good for greatest number
• how to reconcile different concepts of happiness?
• Kantian universal law treat persons as ends
• Protects freedom, dignity
• Aristotle objective structure to a good life
• recommends specific social and religious order

• Utilitarian principle might ? violate indl
  rights
• Liberalism Individualism Social Contract ?
• Libertarian liberalism freedom ? great
  inequality
• Lockean model ? re limits of democratic
  legitimacy
• Equal opportunity liberalism Rawls
• Communitarianism does this ? violate indl
  rights?

3
Social Contract and Rational Consent

• Individual is, in some sense, prior to the state
• Social contract, giving up some goods/rights in
  exchange for others
• Qs about rights
• Alienable?
• Defined by majority?
• Qs about contracts
• Coercive?
• Lack of information?

• What kind of contract would not be tainted?
• Rawls one in which
• There was no coercion, because everyone had the
  same amount of power
• Everyone had equal knowledge
• This is not possible in real life we are born
  into different levels of wealth, power, talent

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Concept of the original position

• Our present standpoint prejudices our conception
  of justice
• To discover the true principles of justice, we
  must imagine
• We make a social contract
• We have general knowledge about human beings and
  their interests
• We dont know our own situation in relation to
  gender, race, natural ability, social situation
• What principles of justice would we choose in the
  original position?

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Two Principles of Liberal Justice

• Liberty
• rights to life, liberty, freedom of speech and
  thought, religion, assembly, etc.
• Distributive
• Rights of property, free market, tempered by
  distribution that maximizes position of least
  well off (maxi/min)
• Equal opportunity

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Maximin Concept

• Rational choice theory

• Possible Outcomes

• Maximin is regarded by some theorists as a basic
  principle of rational choice
• In Maximin, where you are chosing blindly among
  alternative options, you must choose the option
  which gives you the least undesirable outcome.

A B C
-7 8 12 -9 6 16 4 6 8
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Rawlss argument

1. If we did not know our actual interests, we would
   universalize unselfishly what justice demands ?
   Original position concept of social contract
2. But everyone would want political liberty,
   because no one would want to be enslaved or ruled
   by others ? Liberty Principle
3. Also, everyone would want an economic system that
   would guarantee opportunity and produce
   prosperity (free market and competitive
   self-interest promotes that), but no one would
   want to be left behind ? Distributive Principles
4. Everyone would want liberty first, for reasons of
   self-respect as well as power everyone would
   want equal opportunity in economic life ? Lexical
   order

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Concepts of Equal Opportunity
Natural Equal Opportunity Liberal Equal Opportunity Egalitarian Equal Opportunity
Legal equal opportunity (no adjustments for social or other advantages) Liberal equal opportunity (some adjustment for social advantage) Full equal opportunity (full adjustment for social natural advantages)
State enforces laws such that all persons have the same legal, political and economic rights State enforces equal legal equality economic rights for socially disadvantaged e.g. food stamps, health care, scholarships, public defender, etc. State equalizes life-opportunities for all members of society, especially in relation to economic goods, to the maximum extent possible
Accepts inequality in life-opportunity due to wealth or power inheritance, or to natural ability luck Accepts naturally caused unequal opportunity, luck in the market counteract unequal social advantages Accepts considerable limitation of economic freedom for maximum equality of life-opportunity
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Many functions of government in liberal state

• Paternalist social security health insurance
  laws seat belts motocycle helmets
• Redistribution unemployment insurance welfare
  collective goods (parks, transportation) public
  ed retirement etc.
• Morals moral pluralism often blurred by
  distinction of personal liberty v. economic life
  (e.g. private sexual or harmful behavior vs.
  prostitution, tax on smoking )

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Using yourlottery card, where would you want to
live?
Ave. Salaries Society A Society B Society C
CEO Professionals Teachers Mechanics Farm workers Unemployed (workfare) BASIC COL (3) 2,000,000 200,000 75,000 55,000 20,000 nothing 30,000 400,000 100,000 70,000 70,000 30,000 15,000 20,000 100,000 75,000 50,000 50,000 30,000 15,000 10,000
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If you did not have your lottery card, would
you prefer C or D?
Society A Society B Society C Society D
Libertarian state with equal political rights, but vast differences in social and economic status. No social safety net. No EO. Possible ? very wealthy, very poor. Maximum Freedom. Singapore state with limited political rights, suppresses non-consensus religious, moral and political views. Strong social safety net public ed EO to ? wealth and power in the society. Material well-being Liberal state with equal political rights, modest diffs in soc/economic status. Good safety net public ed, EO for jobs no one ? extremely wealthy or poor. Least well off wealthier than Society D. Political freedom social security. Egalitarian liberal state with equal political rights, very small diffs in social/ec status. Very strong safety net public ed, EO for jobs much greater social and economic equality than societies A, B and even C. Social equality
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3 arguments vs. capitalism

1. Fairness argument capitalism is creatively
   destructive, causing great inequalities (e.g. by
   inheritance) in life opportunities (i.e. social
   dis/advantages)
2. Utility argument capitalism nourishes greed,
   creating a society with great suffering for poor
   and untalented and ecological destruction
3. Power argument capitalism creates a society in
   which you get what you pay for and corporations
   and billionaires make the laws

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Objections to Rawlsian Liberalism

• Libertarians
• reject Distributive Principle
• reject liberal policies to make real equal
  political rights
• public financing of elections, prohibition of
  corporate political donations, public defenders
  etc.
• Communitarians (Sandel) different set of
  arguments
• Critique of liberal concept of self, state
• Priority of conceptions of the good life over
  conceptions of justice (good over right), vs.
  liberal ideal of priority of right over good

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Inheritance Tax?Libertarian vs. Liberal

• Individuals have earned the , have the right to
  transfer it as they wish
• Inheritance tax steals money from rightful owners
  (parents)
• Consequent inequality of opportunity for children
  part of parents just reward for earning wealth
• Reject all redistribution
• U args liberalism undercuts prosperity as well
  as freedom

• Vast inequality of opportunity even in Lockean
  state
• Individuals (childs) advantages luck in the
  birth-lottery
• Market does not reward according to merit or
  work
• Society is fair in supporting LEO
• Doesnt ? ever gt inequality
• People have a fair start
• Some redistribution is just
• U args libertarianism undercuts prosperity/merit
  as well as allows unfairness of opportunity

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Proposal 1 North Carolina Fair Educational
Opportunity Act

• No public support for private schools
• Increase tax rate on highest level 7 to 10
• Funding to create NCFEO merit scholarships to
  pay all expenses for NC universities, including
  tuition, books and basic living expenses

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Proposal 2 North Carolina Disabilities
Opportunity Act

• DD persons significant mental or physical
  disabilities which not due to their own actions
• Increase tax rate on highest level 7 to 10
• Create greater opportunities in
• Jobs tax deduction for hiring for
  non-replacement, disability-disadvantaged
  positions
• Education/communication DD persons provided
  relevant services in education and communication
• Physical access all public and corporate building

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Liberal vs. Communitarian

• Concept of the Self
• Autonomous individual
• Self-respect
• Concept of the State
• Priority of the right
• Protects formal justice
• Protects material justice (EO)
• Neutrality re the good
• State neutrality toward morals, religion, etc.
• Wants public discourse to presuppose moral
  pluralism

• Concept of the Self
• Situated self Families, cultural groups,
  gender, religion
• Absolute commitments
• Concept of the State
• Politics re the good as well as the right
• Examples
• Minority cultures liberal values (e.g. the
  veil)
• Abortion, euthanasia
• Gay rights family values

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Communitarian argument

1. The liberal concept of the social contract
   ignores the social realities of human life. We
   are not isolated individuals. We live as
   already committed selves, part of human
   communities. ? Concepts of Situated Self and
   Living social institutions
2. These institutions include marriage, family, and
   religion. We human beings find our
   good/fulfillment in them, and live diminished
   lives without them. But they exist to further
   human procreation, interpersonal love, and human
   spiritual fulfillment. It is right and proper for
   human government to protect and nurture them, as
   good in themselves and as vehicles of good for
   human persons. ? Communitarian concept of
   justice based on human good
3. Thus natural law says justice implies not only
   political rights, but also Marriage, the Family
   and Religion, as essential components of a good
   society. Nature ? these institutions for a good
   life.

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Religion, identity, liberty the veil

• In France, there are concerns about the values of
  Islamic immigrants and French liberal culture
• Should French law defend the rights of Muslim
  women, often suppressed, forbidding the veil in
  schools?
• Or the veil an expression of religious liberty,
  that should be protected?

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Religion, abortion, and politics

• Liberal Argument
• If it all depends on when personhood begins
• And there is no objective non-religious answer to
  that (viability vs. conception)
• Then the state should be neutral and abortion
  should be a personal choice
• Communitarian reply
• Isnt this good (life) so basic the voters must
  decide if abortion is evil and wrong?