A Fair Share: Distributive Justice

Paper Summary:

The paper analzyes Nozick's ideas from his book "Anarchy, State, and Utopia" as well as Rawls' theories from his work "A Theory of Justice". The paper shows how Nozick challenges John Rawls' theories, which basically claim that all trade or distribution must be fair, and instead argues that if an agreement was made, then that is fair, even if in retrospect it is discovered that it is not. The paper discusses how Nozick is generally not considered an anarchist, but a libertarian, and explains the problem reconciling utilitarianism with distributive justice. The paper also shows how both philosophers contributed massively to the idea of justice and fairness, even though their opinions were largely in opposition.

From the Paper:

"We've all hear the term a "fair share". As children we are taught that when we don't have what everyone else does, it is not fair. The concept of fairness is something that children base their playful activities on. Fair share is a term that can refer to anything, but politically speaking, most often this is a term used to represent the government share of resource revenues. Fair share is the idea behind what political philosophers call "distributive justice", a term (like fair share) that basically means that each individual as a member of a diverse society is allowed an equal share of the resources available. The term encompasses the quantity of goods to be distributed, and how they will be allocated."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Nozick, Robert. Anarchy, State, and Utopia. Basic Books, Inc. New Jersey. 1974.
• Rawls, John. A Theory of Justice. Harvard University Press. President and Fellows ofHarvard College. 1971.
• Berkham, Alexander. What is Anarchism? AK Press. July 1, 2003.

More papers on A Fair Share: Distributive Justice:

• Comparison Essay # 56932 : "Is Justice Always Fair?"
• Analytical Essay # 150119 : "The Implications of Distributive Justice in Locke and Rawls"
• Essay # 89231 : "Distributive Justice: John Rawls and Social Injustice Issues"

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