Wednesday, July 06, 2011

Keller: three kinds of (secular) justice

Sandel [in Three Kinds of Justice] lays out three current views of justice, which he calls "maximising welfare", "respecting freedom", and "promoting virtue".  According to one framework, the most just action is that which brings the greatest good to the greatest number of people.  According to the second, the most just action is that which respects the freedom and rights of each individual to live as he or she chooses.  According to the last view, justice is served when people are acting as they ought to, in accord with morality and virtue.  These views lead to sharply different conclusions about what is just in particular cases.

Why do we have such gridlock in our society over justice?  Underneath all the notions of justice is a set of faith assumptions that are essentially religious and these are often not acknowledged...

Generous Justice, p155

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