Rule Utilitarianism and the State

Term Paper # 101540

Ethics
Film > Analysis, Criticism, Etc.
Holocaust Studies

A review of the film, "Judgment at Nuremberg," directed by Stanley Kramer and the ethical or normative theories that affect construction of a desired society.

2,036 words () | 4 sources | MLA | 2008 United States

Paper Summary:

This paper discusses four major ethical or normative theories to the problem of the construction of a desired society. It looks at the significance of realism in normative analysis. The paper analyzes the film, "Judgment at Nuremberg," directed by Stanley Kramer in order to illustrate the challenges of devising a normative ethical viewpoint given the ethical complexity inherent in modern society.

From the Paper:

"While Nazi Germany is an extreme example it is, unfortunately, representative of many tyrannies in human history in which a minority has seen its rights stripped, and claims of justice and community values/virtue dismissed, to supply the happiness or greater utility of the majority. The system of slavery in the American South prior to the Civil War represents precisely a model of precisely such a challenge."
"In this regard, a normative analysis would suggest that rule utilitarianism offers a stronger and more viable principle of utility than pure utilitarianism. Modern rule utilitarians, for example, "place heavy emphasis on human rights and freedoms" (Dwyer 163) which can be incorporated in this normative theory in a way they cannot be in pure utilitarianism."

Sample of Sources Used:

Bakker, Isabella and Scott, Katherine. "From the Postwar to the Post-Liberal Keynesian Welfare State." In Course Reader: Foundations of Business and Society. Ed. John Dwyer. York University, 2007: 279-292.
Dwyer, John. "Ethical Paradigms and Theories." In Course Reader: Foundations of Business and Society. Ed. John Dwyer. York University, 2007: 151-180.
Hampton, Jean. "Distributive Justice." In Course Reader: Foundations of Business and Society. Ed. John Dwyer. York University, 2007: 335-358.
Public Citizen. "Top power suppliers gave millions to Republicans." In Course Reader: Foundations of Business and Society. Ed. John Dwyer. York University, 2007: 319-320.

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APA Citation:

Rule Utilitarianism and the State (2012, January 15). Retrieved February 13, 2012, from http://www.academon.com/Term-Paper-Rule-Utilitarianism-and-the-State/101540