Deck 4: Who Gets What and Why? Fairness and Justice

Question 1

Explain Smith's view of human difference. Do you agree? Does Smith encounter problems with the notion of fairness?

Answer 1

No Answer

Question 2

Explain Ciulla's concept of exploitation. What might Adam Smith say to Ciulla? Write a short dialogue between the two on work, justice, and exploitation.

Answer 2

No Answer

Question 3

Take the dialogue you wrote for Question 2 and add the voice of John Rawls. On whose side is he? What does Rawls say to Smith about natural human differences and free exchange? How does Nozick counter Rawls's argument?

Answer 3

No Answer

Question 4

Explain the open-ended distributive principle Walzer suggests on p. 149 in the final paragraph of the excerpt. Do you think this principle is justified? Do you think our society today adheres to this principle? If you do, explain why. If you do not, give an example of two social goods to justify your claim.

Question 5

Explain Kristol's capitalist conception of justice. Why does he reject the notion of "social justice"? Which notion of justice appeals to you, and why?

Question 6

Explain Hayek's argument that "justice ruins the market." What would Rawls say to Hayek? How would Kristol respond to Rawls? Finally, what would McEntee add?

Question 7

Smith thinks that the ability to trade is a capacity found in:

A) Some apes and all humans
B) Some humans and all apes
C) Only humans
D) All humans and some species of birds and apes
E) All animals

Question 8

Smith believes that when we address ourselves, we are actually addressing what?

A) Those for whom we truly care
B) Our self-love
C) Our humanity
D) God
E) The creator of justice

Question 9

Ciulla states, "When it comes to work, __________ has freedom of choice, but not everyone has __________."

A) a white person, good connections
B) everyone, the knowledge of the choice
C) everyone, good connections
D) everyone, viable options
E) the U.S citizen, the privilege of calling the U.S. their home

Question 10

Ciulla's discussion of "monkey labor" discusses the problem of workplace:

A) Exploitation
B) Happiness
C) Jealousy
D) Secrecy

Question 11

This philosopher argues that one's labor is an extension of one's body:

A) Cohen
B) Boatright
C) Kant
D) Locke
E) Rawls

Question 12

According to Locke, wages are compensation for what?

A) Loss of freedom
B) Time spent
C) Labor done
D) b and c
E) a, b, and c

Question 13

Marx might say you are alienated from your labor if you:

A) Don't get paid fairly
B) Don't have a job
C) Don't identify with your job
D) Don't have enough leisure time
E) Don't work in the country of which you are a citizen

Question 14

Rawls thinks justice should be conceived as:

A) A virtue
B) A theory with little possibility of application
C) Fairness
D) The original position
E) Compensation for labor completed

Question 15

Rawls says that "the principles of justice are chosen behind a veil of ignorance." This means:

A) We must decide our principles without studying theories of justice.
B) We must decide our principles as if we did not know our race, gender, or social class.
C) We have an unjust society because too many people are ignorant.
D) We have an unjust society because no one can understand the principles of justice.
E) We should allow ignorant people to determine our principles of justice.

Question 16

Rawls states the principles of justice in which he believes. Which of these points is NOT part of his principles?

A) Each person has as much liberty as possible without compromising other people's freedom.
B) Social and economic inequalities only exist for everyone's benefit.
C) Positions and offices with greater rewards are open to everyone.
D) Everyone has the right to vote and freedom of speech.
E) Wealth and income are distributed equally among everyone.

Question 17

According to Pascal, tyranny is exemplified by which of the following cases?

A) A person's trying to use his physical attractiveness to get respect.
B) A person's using his persuasiveness and helpfulness to secure political power.
C) A person who thinks that because he is physically strong, people should love him.
D) a. and c.
E) a., b. and c.

Question 18

For Nozick, the subject of justice in holdings consists of three major topics. Which of the following is NOT one of those topics outlined in the reading?

A) The appropriation of unheld things
B) The transfer of holdings from one person to another
C) The entitlement of holdings of just persons
D) The rectification of injustice in holdings
E) Both a and b

Question 19

Nozick argues that theories of distributive justice all share the same problem, which is:

A) There is no person or group with the right to control how resources should be distributed.
B) The theories are created behind a veil of ignorance.
C) The theories are too abstract and impractical.
D) The theories encourage the exploitation of workers.
E) Distribution of resources is not a problem of justice.

Question 20

Nozick's theory of justice is "historical" because:

A) He believes we should return to nineteenth-century conceptions of justice.
B) He believes we should consider the history of philosophy in constructing our theory.
C) He believes his theory is an important, historic breakthrough.
D) He believes the history of how people got their belongings matters.
E) He believes the history of how our principles evolved matters.

Question 21

A "patterned" principle of justice is one that:

A) Distributes goods evenly to all people in the community
B) Considers history and how people's possessions were gained
C) Distributes goods depending on people's qualities like need or merit
D) Considers entitlement
E) Considers only justice in transfer, not justice in holding

Question 22

Nozick believes that a patterned distribution of goods is unstable because:

A) It is inherently unfair.
B) It relies on pure unregulated capitalism.
C) People are inherently selfish.
D) People mess up the pattern by slacking off and not working.
E) People mess up the pattern by making deals or working overtime.

Question 23

Locke's proviso is intended to limit:

A) The acquisition of too much wealth
B) The role of government in the economy
C) The kinds of economic principles that we should adopt
D) Property claims that harm the state
E) Property claims that harm other people

Question 24

Kristol argues that capitalism got a "bad name" because economists shifted their focus from an analysis of production to an analysis of:

A) Socialism
B) Distribution
C) Interest rates
D) Humanitarianism
E) Discrimination

Question 25

Kristol says that a just society:

A) Requires government intervention
B) Is something we should all work toward
C) Could not really exist on earth
D) Is the goal of politics
E) Requires a completely free market

Question 26

According to Hayek, social justice usually amounts to what?

A) A dictator forcing everyone to conform to one standard of justice
B) A well-thought-out compromise that is best for everyone
C) Different groups arguing over what justice is
D) Excess regulation that slows down the economy
E) People living together in peace

Question 27

The "important fact" that Hayek refers to as one that most people find difficult to admit is that:

A) The poor are just lazy.
B) The poor are not really as poor as they appear to be.
C) The belief in social justice is there only to make us feel better about ourselves.
D) There are no poor people.
E) The pursuit of selfishness actually ends up serving society.

Question 28

Advocating a reduction of the gap between men's and women's earnings is known as supporting:

A) Affirmative action
B) Notable action
C) Comparable worth
D) Comparative action
E) Double standards

Question 29

Why does Beining think that the extremely rich "should give a lot of it back"?

A) Because wealth is ill-gotten gains, acquired by immoral means.
B) Because wealth is acquired mostly by chance.
C) Because the poor need it more.
D) Because justice requires that money should be equally distributed.
E) Because wealth has moral baggage.

Question 30

The introduction to this chapter argues that being a member of a company is analogous to being a member of a family.

Question 31

Distributive justice is essentially concerned with punishment.

Question 32

Smith believes that what separates a genius from a common man is natural talents.

Question 33

Smith thinks self-love is a beneficial thing.

Question 34

Smith is opposed to the division of labor.

Question 35

Ciulla claims that workers have many more options for employment than what we might initially believe.

Question 36

Rawls proposes three principles of justice that he contends reflect fairness.

Question 37

Rawls insists that free exchange is at the heart of justice.

Question 38

Michael Walzer thinks we should focus on breaking up or constraining monopolies on particular social goods.

Question 39

According to Walzer, there is nothing wrong in principle if persuasive and helpful people are accorded more political power than others.

Question 40

For Nozick, the term "distributive justice" is a neutral one.

Question 41

Nozick believes that only a minimal state can be justified.

Question 42

Kristol argues that most people become better off under a capitalist system.

Question 43

Kristol thinks that "social justice" is fully compatible with capitalism.

Question 44

Hayek is against the simple idea of justice.

Question 45

McEntee thinks that comparing different kinds of jobs, like a secretary and a truck driver, is not possible.

Question 46

Beining's article makes the point that extreme differences between rich and poor are damaging to democracy.

Question 47

__________ is concerned with the distribution of goods in the context of a job, salaries, opportunities, and responsibilities.

Question 48

Smith believes we, as a society, gain many advantages as a result of the division of __________.

Question 49

Ciulla states that "the practice of __________ had been around for a long time" before the appearance of its modern counterpart.

Question 50

__________ said "the subjugation of the needy does not begin with the consent of the Lord, but with the consent of the poor man."

Question 51

Ciulla believes that __________, like labor, can be bartered and traded.

Question 52

The "primitive condition" that Rawls stresses as the starting place for a conception of justice is referred to as the __________.

Question 53

Rawls argues that __________ consists of the principles that free, rational persons concerned with furthering their own interests would accept in an initial position of equality.

Question 54

The __________ applies sequentially once the first has been fulfilled.

Question 55

According to Walzer, in a regime of ____________, no citizen's standing in one sphere or with regard to one social good can be undercut by his standing in some other sphere, with regard to some other good.

Question 56

According to Pascal, ___________ is the wish to obtain by one means what can only be had by another.

Question 57

Nozick does not like the phrase "distributive justice," so he calls his position the __________________ theory.

Question 58

Nozick's theory is _____________, meaning that it considers how a distribution of goods came about.

Question 59

Capitalists, according to Kristol, believe that there should be no official __________ to economic opportunity in a society.

Question 60

Under capitalism, Kristol says, justice means that rewards are based on one's input to the _____________.

Question 61

Hayek believes that ________________ creates conflict between the interests of different groups.

Question 62

According to Hayek, individuals pursuing _____________ aims are usually led to contribute to the good of society.

Question 63

In Breining's article, he says the rich should give a lot of money back because they mostly became wealthy by __________.

Question 64

McEntee's main concern is about wage discrimination against _____________.