LESSON 10:

JUSTICE AND
FAIRNESS:
PROMOTING THE
COMMON GOOD
WHAT IS JUSTICE?
 Justice means giving each person what he or she deserves or, in more
traditional terms, giving each person his or her due. Justice usually has
been used with reference to a standard of rightness.
 The most fundamental principle of justice that has been widely accepted
since it was first defined by Aristotle (2000 years ago). Aristotle stated
that "equals should be treated equally and unequally."
 It means that "Individuals should be treated the same, unless they differ
in ways that are relevant to the situation in which they are involved."
Different
Kinds of
Justice
Retributive
Justice
Compensatory
Justice
Distributive
Justice
 Retributive or
Corrective Justice
 Retributive justice refers to the extent to which
punishments are fair and just. In general, punishments are
held to be just to the extent that they take into account to
relevant criteria such as the seriousness of the crime and
the intent of the criminal, and discount irrelevant criteria
such as race. It would be barbarously unjust,
 For example, to chop off a person's hand for stealing a
dime, or to impose the death penalty on a person who by
accident and without negligence injured another party.
Studies have frequently shown that when blacks murder
whites, they are much more likely to receive death
sentences than when whites murder whites or blacks murder
blacks. These studies suggest that injustice still exists in the
criminal justice system in the United States.
 Compensatory
Justice
 Compensatory justice refers to the extent to which
people are fairly compensated for their injuries by
those who have injured them; just compensation is
proportional to the loss inflicted on a person. This is
precisely the kind of justice that is at stake in debates
over damage to workers' health in coal mines. Some
argue that mine owners should compensate the
workers whose health has been ruined. Others argue
that workers voluntarily took on this risk when they
chose employment in the mines.
 Distributive
Justice
 It refers to the extent to which society's institutions
ensure that benefits and burdens are distributed
among society's members in ways that are fair and
just. When the institutions of a society distribute
benefits or burdens in unjust ways, there is a strong
presumption that those institutions should be changed.
For example, the American institution of slavery in the
pre-civil war South was condemned as unjust because
it was a glaring case of treating people differently
based on race.
Examples of Justice
Coming from
Different
Perspectives:
 Before hiring a person to fill a vacancy in a governmental
agency, the agency must advertise the availability of the position
and provide all applicants the opportunity to take a written
examination and to have an interview
 During the Middle Ages, people were sometimes forced to
confess to crimes by the use of torture.
 If you are accused of a crime, the government has the obligation
to provide a lawyer to assist you at public expense if you cannot
afford one.
 What is
Fairness?
 Fairness is concerned with actions, processes, and
consequences, that are morally right honorable, and
equitable. In essence, the virtue of fairness establishes
moral standards for decisions that affect others. Fair
decisions are made in an appropriate manner based on
appropriate criteria.
 It is the impartial and just treatment or behavior without
favoritism or discrimination. Fairness has also been used
to refer to the ability to make judgments that are not
overly general but that are concrete and specific to a
particular case. Fairness can be interpreted as being
equal in provision, in opportunity or in result.
Examples of Fairness coming
from different Perspectives:
1. Most of us think it is fair and just when a parent gives his own
children more attention and care in his private affairs than he
gives the children of others.
2. In the eyes of the majority it is fair when the person who is first in
a line at a theater is given first choice of theater tickets.
3. We think it is just when the government gives benefits to the
needy that it does not provide to more affluent citizens.
Examples of Fairness coming
from different Perspectives:
4. We think it is just when some who have done wrong are given
punishments that are not meted out to others who have done
nothing wrong.
5. We think it is fair when those who exert more efforts or who
make a greater contribution to a project receive more benefits
from the project than others.
 Principles of
Fairness
Fairness requires that we:
 Treat all people equitably based on their merits and abilities and handle
all essentially similar situations similarly and with consistency.

 Make all decisions on appropriate criteria, without undue favoritism or

improper prejudice.

 Never blame or punish people for what they did not do, and
appropriately sanction those who violate moral obligations or laws.
 Principles of
Fairness
Fairness requires that we:
 Promptly and voluntarily correct personal and institutional mistakes and
improprieties.

 Not take unfair advantage of people’s mistakes or ignorance.

 Fully consider the rights, interests, and perspectives of all. Approach

judgments with open-minded impartiality (setting aside prejudices and
predispositions), conscientiously gather and verify facts, provide critical
stakeholders with an opportunity to explain or clarify, and carefully evaluate
the information.
Is Justice and Fairness
the same?
JUSTICE FAIRNESS
 Justice usually has been used with  Fairness often has been used with
reference to a standard of rightness regard to an ability to judge without
 Justice is about the state giving to reference to one's feelings or interests.
people their due.  Fairness has also been used to refer to
 It means that "Individuals should be the ability to make judgments that are
treated the same, unless they differ in not overly general but that are concrete
ways that are relevant to the situation in and specific to a particular case.
which they are involved.  Fairness is about people’s position in
society being determined by factors
within their control.
There are five types of
distributive justice norms
proposed by Donelson R.
EQUITY
Forsyth:
EQUALITY
POWER
POWER
RESPONSI
BILITY
EGALITARI  It is a doctrine and/or philosophical
AN perspective that prioritizes equality,
equal treatment among people in
terms of gender, race, religion,
economic status and political beliefs.
It opposes the income/distribution
inequality, the idea that contributed
to the creation of different economic
and political systems.
EGALITARI  Legal egalitarianism refers to the
AN principle that everyone is subject to
the same law.
 Political egalitarianism supports the
principle of democracy wherein every
person has equal standing but with
respect with the government power
 Economic egalitarianism refers to
the principle of everyone has the right
to collect or accumulate income.
CAPITALI  It is an economic system
SM characterized by private or corporate
ownership of capital goods, by
investments that are determined by
private decision, and by prices,
production, and the distribution of
goods that are determined mainly by
competition in a free market.
CAPITALI
A capitalist society is one that
SM supremely values:

 First, private property rights.

 Second, the enforcement of
contracts.
 Third, voluntary exchange.
CAPITALI
SM  Capitalism’s supporters believe in
several key points: Economic
freedom leads to political freedom
and having a state-owned means
of production can lead to federal
overreach and authoritarianism.
SOCIALIS  Socialism is an economic system
M where everyone in society equally
owns the factors of production namely
labor, entrepreneurship, capital
goods, and natural resources. The
ownership is acquired through a
democratically elected government
while it could also be a cooperative
or a public corporation where everyone
owns shares
SOCIALIS  The mantra of socialism indicates
M that everyone in society should
receive a share of the production
based on how much each has
contributed which motivates them
to work long hours if they want to
receive more.
 SOCIALISM
Advantages of
Disadvantages
Socialism of Socialism
 Since workers own the means of production, they  The reliability on the cooperative nature of humans to
are no longer exploited under the political ideology work is the biggest advantage of socialism. It refutes
of socialism. All profits are spread justifiably among those within society who are competitive, not
all workers, according to his or her contribution and cooperative.
even those who can't work must have their basic  Socialism doesn't reward people for being
needs met, for the good of the whole. competitive and entrepreneurial. As such, it won't be
 The system eradicates poverty which means as innovative as a capitalistic society.
everyone has equal access to health care and  The government that is set up to represent the
education and no one is discriminated against.  masses may abuse its position and claim power for
 Everyone works at what one is best at and what one itself. 
enjoys. If society needs jobs to be done that no one
wants, it offers higher compensation to make it
worthwhile.
 Preservation of natural resources.
 Types of Socialism
Democratic Socialism Market Socialism

Revolutionary Socialism Green Socialism

Libertarian Socialism Utopian Socialism

THE STATES AND CITIZENS

What is a state?
State – it is the means of rule over a defined or “sovereign” territory. It is
comprised of an executive, a bureaucracy, courts and other institutions. It is
more than just a government because government changes while state
doesn’t. A state operates a military and police force as well as charges and
imposes taxes.
THE STATES AND CITIZENS
Responsibility of the
State
One of the responsibilities of the government is to collect taxes to pay for the
goods and services. Most state and local government revenues come from
sales taxes, grants from the federal government, personal income taxes and
property taxes. Understanding the role of citizens as taxpayers and the role of
government in providing goods and services to the public can help prepare
people to be fully engaged citizens.
THE STATES AND CITIZENS

What is a citizen?

Citizen – a person who is entitled to enjoy all the legal rights and
privileges granted by a state to the people comprising its
constituency and is obliged to obey its laws and to fulfill his or duties
as called upon.
THE STATES AND CITIZENS

Duties of a Citizen

A duty or an obligation is something that a citizen is required to do,

by law. Some duties/obligations are:
1. Serving on juries
2. Defending the nation
3. Obeying laws
4. Paying taxes
 THE PRINCIPLES OF
TAXATION AND INCLUSIVE
GROWTH
TAXATION
 Tax is the most important source of government revenue. It is a
compulsory payment made by individuals and companies to the govern­
ment on the basis of certain well-established rules or criteria such as
income earned, property owned, capital gains made or expenditure
incurred (money spent) on domestic and imported articles.
 THE PRINCIPLES OF
TAXATION AND INCLUSIVE
GROWTH
Principles of
Taxation
The principles of taxation which is the appropriate criteria to be employed in the
development and evaluation of the tax structure, have received attention from the days of
Adam Smith.
Adam Smith developed his four famous canons of taxation:
1. Equity. The amount payable by taxpayers should be equal, by which he meant
proportional to income;
2. Ability. The taxpayer should know for certain how much he will have to pay.
3. Convenience. There should be convenience of payment;
4. Economy. Taxes should not be imposed if their cost of collection is excessive.
 The following are the most
important principles of
taxation:
1. Neutrality. As a general rule, people do not like tax payment. In fact, every tax
provides an incentive to do something to avoid it. Since the government is under
compulsion to collect taxes, it is not possible to guarantee complete neutrality. The tax
system must, therefore, seek to achieve neutrality, by minimizing the disturbance to
the market that comes from taxation.
2. Non-neutrality. Sometimes it becomes essential to maintain non-neutrality for
meeting certain social objectives. These objectives can be secured by providing tax
incentives. This means that in some cases, it may be desirable to disturb the private
market.
For example, the government may impose tax on polluting activities, so as to
discourage firms to pollute the environment. Likewise, a tax on cigarettes will
serve a two-fold purpose: raising revenue and dis­couraging consumption of this
harmful item. In both the cases, the market is disturbed but in a desirable way.
 The following are the most
important principles of
taxation:
3. Equity. Taxation involves compulsion. Therefore, it is important for the tax system to
be fair. On grounds of equity it has been suggested that a tax system should be
based on a principle of equal sacrifice or ability to pay.

The latter is determined by:

(a) income or wealth and

(b) personal circumstances.
 INCLUSIVE GROWTH: ITS
MEANING AND PRINCIPLES
Inclusive growth is defined as “broad-
based growth that enables the widest
range of people and places to
contribute to economic success, and to
benefit from it too. Its purpose is to
achieve more prosperity alongside
greater equity in opportunities and
outcomes”.
 Principles of Inclusive
Growth
1. Creating a shared-binding mission – show a commitment to
inclusive growth as the shared endeavor with a common vision
for change.
2. Measuring the human experience of growth, nut just its
rate – measure what we value and what we want to achieve.
3. See growth as a social system, not just a machine – solve
what is having an impact, where and why, and where services
or spending are having perverse effects on inclusive growth
outcomes.
4. Be an agile investor at scale – make sure there is strategic,
integrated finance for social and physical infrastructure, to
maximize the value of public, private and their sector
investment.
5. Entrepreneurial, whole-place leadership – bring together, at
a place level, business, civil society and political leaders,
formally and informally, to drive system-change.