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Ethical Theory and Business, 6th Edition Tom L. Beauchamp & Norman E. Bowie

Chapter Nine Social and Economic Justice

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Objectives ٠ After studying this chapter the student should be able to: – Summarize the egalitarian theory of distributive justice. – Compare and contrast radical and qualified egalitarianism. – Define the principle of redress. – Describe the difference principle. – Summarize the libertarian theory of distributive justice.

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Objectives – Explain current time-slice principles of justice. – Explain the problems associated with patterned principles of justice. – Summarize the utilitarian theory of distributive justice. – Examine the argument for an obligation to assist and the objections to this argument. – Summarize the communitarian theory of distributive justice. – Discuss what constitutes justice and fairness in international business. © Prentice Hall, 2001

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Objectives – Discuss the effects of justice as reciprocity. – Explain the effects of conditionality on developing countries. – Identify background institutions for distributive justice. – Contrast the duty obligations of multinational corporations and governments.

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Overview ٠ Egalitarian Theory of Distributive Justice ٠ Libertarian Theory of Distributive Justice ٠ Utilitarian Theory of Distributive Justice ٠ Communitarian Theory of Distributive Justice ٠ International Economic Justice

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John Rawls ٠ “An Egalitarian Theory of Justice” ٠ Professor Emeritus, Harvard University ٠ Egalitarian theory – A theory that emphasizes equal access to primary goods for everyone – Radical egalitarianism – Proposes that individual differences are always morally insignificant – Qualified egalitarianism – Concerned only with basic equalities among individuals

٠ Distributive Justice - The proper distribution of social benefits and burdens © Prentice Hall, 2001

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John Rawls ٠ The role of justice ٠ The main idea of the theory of justice ٠ The original position and justification ٠ Two principles of justice – Equality in the assignment of basic rights and duties – Social and economic inequalities are just only if they result in compensating benefits for everyone, especially the least advantaged of society © Prentice Hall, 2001

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John Rawls ٠ Social primary goods v. natural goods ٠ Principle of redress – Requires society to try to even out undeserved inequalities such as birth and natural endowment ٠ Difference principle – Inequalities are justified only if they maximally enhance the position of the “representative least advantaged” person, that is, a hypothetical individual particularly unfortunate in the distribution of fortuitous characteristics or social advantages © Prentice Hall, 2001

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John Rawls ٠ Background institutions – Allocation branch – Keeps the price system workably competitive and prevents the formation of unreasonable market power – Stabilization branch – Strives to bring about reasonably full employment in the sense that those who want work can find it and the free choice of occupation and the development of finance are ed by strong effective demand

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John Rawls – Transfer branch – Considers needs and assigns them an appropriate weight with respect to other claims – Distribution branch – Preserves an approximate justice in distributive shares by means of taxation and the necessary adjustments in the rights of property

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Robert Nozick ٠ “The Entitlement Theory” ٠ Professor of Philosophy, Harvard University ٠ Libertarian theory – A theory that emphasizes rights to social and economic liberty and deemphasizes collective control ٠ Justice in holdings – Original acquisition of holdings – Transfer of holdings – Rectification of injustice of holdings

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Robert Nozick ٠ Current time-slice principles – The justice of a distribution is determined by how things are distributed as judged by some structural principle(s) of just distribution ٠ Patterning

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Peter Singer ٠ "Rich and Poor” ٠ Professor of Bioethics, Princeton University ٠ Utilitarian theory – A theory that emphasizes a mixed use of such criteria resulting in the maximization of both public and individual interests ٠ Argument for an obligation to assist

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Peter Singer ٠ Objections to the argument – Taking care of our own – Property rights – Population and the ethics of triage

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Michael Walzer ٠ “Spheres of Justice” ٠ Professor School of Social Science, Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton N.J. ٠ Communitarian theory – A theory that emphasizes group goals, collective control, and participation in communal life ٠ Complexities involved with determining equality of distributive justice

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Michael Walzer ٠ Distribution of hip within society ٠ Free exchange and the effects on distributive justice ٠ Justice in the twentieth century ٠ Should society be run as a decentralized democratic socialism?

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Richard T. DeGeorge ٠ “Negotiating Justice” ٠ Director of the International Center for Ethics in Business, University of Kansas ٠ Justice and fairness in international business ٠ Doctrine of national sovereignty – Limits the extent to which any nation can intervene in the internal affairs of another nation ٠ Justice as reciprocity © Prentice Hall, 2001

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Richard T. DeGeorge ٠ Background conditions for international justice – True participative reciprocity – Acknowledgement of the formal equality of states in the context of international relations and international law

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Thomas Donaldson ٠ “The Ethics of Conditionality in International Debt” ٠ Professor of Legal Studies, The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania ٠ Conditionality - Lending money to developing countries under conditions that aim at economic reforms ٠ Fundamental international rights ٠ Right v. duty © Prentice Hall, 2001

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Thomas Donaldson ٠ Three types of correlative duties for any right – Avoid depriving – Help protect from deprivation – Aid the deprived

٠ Multinational corporation duty obligations ٠ Government duty obligations ٠ Minimal economic security

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