...To what extent is there tension between liberalism and the principle of equality? Liberalism is the orthodox challenging position that believes in power to the people giving reference to the term ‘Free men’ where liberalism was the product of the breakdown of feudalism in Europe replaced with a growth of a ‘Market’ and a capitalist society. Royalty was at the time supposedly chosen by god ‘Absolutism’ but people began to question the power of the king (Glorious and French revolutions). The central theme of the liberal ideology is a commitment to the individual and a society that entices the desire of individuals to fulfil their potential enjoying maximum possible freedom within a like freedom for all. Equality refers to being treated equally and of identical moral worth, however there are diverse types that branch from this. Both Modern and Classical Liberals support three types of equality. Individualism implies a commitment to ‘foundational equality’ that feels that human beings should be ‘born’ equally in the sense that all individuals are of equal moral value gaining natural or human rights. The second type of equality is ‘formal equality’ ideas concealing that we should all have the same formal status. Largely in terms of rights and entitlements it disapproves social privileges that are given to some and denied to others due to ‘irrational factors’ such as race & gender, creating the essence of ‘difference blind’. Non-legal factors should be discarded during process...
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...To what extend do liberals support the principle of equality. Discuss. First and foremost, the liberal principle of equality is that human beings are of an ‘identical worth’. Every individual is entitled to be treated in the same way. The Classical Liberals of the 19th century proposed a society in which individuals were largely free from restraint. Therefore, in a free society people are ‘free to be unequal’ and the consequence of such society would be that some would succeed while some fail. The game of life must thus be played on an even playing field. Liberals theory of justice is based on a belief in equality. Individualism, which is the central value for all liberals, implied a commitment to Foundation Equality. This is where each human being are seen to be ‘born’ equal in the sense that each individual is of equal moral worth, an idea embodied in the notion of natural rights or human rights. Foundation equality implies a belief in Formal Equality, an idea that individuals should enjoy the same FORMAL STATUS in society. The significance of the principle of equality in liberal values is highlighted in their disapproval of any social privileges or advantages that are enjoyed by some but denied to on others on the basis of factors such as gender, race, colour, screed, religion or social background. In this sense, liberalism is difference blind which is a concept based on the belief that everyone is treated the same regardless of any feature specific to him or her...
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...Justice INTRODUCTION In a civilized social system, law plays not only the role of guarantor of justice equality and liberty, but also as a tool for attaining the ends of justice. In this respect the modern democratic state has to adopt objective standards to protect the human rights of its citizens. Equality is one among those cardinal human rights by which the State is mandated to treat the equals equally and unequal unequally when it distributes its own benefits to the people. But who are equals and who are unequal is a thorny issue, for the limited resources are much valuable and required by the various group of people and they have to be distributed justly and fairly. In the Indian constitutional scheme, it had been envisaged by the framers that there should be equality of opportunity is for all citizens in public employments and such equality of opportunity a fundamental right of the citizens’.At the same time, the need for some beneficial treatment to the weaker sections of the society was also enshrined with that right. What is the basis of distribution of societal resources to certain sections? The thrust of this Chapter goes with the following enquiry. Is there any jurisprudential foundation for protective discrimination? If so what is it? This aspect is assessed from the angle of different theories of justice viz., social justice, distributive justice, equality and equal opportunity and social engineering theory. The responses of Indian courts in this regard are...
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...Equalities Impact Assessment Corporate Communication Strategy and Action Plan Date: March 2009 EQUALITY IMPACT ASSESSMENT Equality Impact Assessment - Policies | | | |Title of policy being assessed: |Corporate Communication Strategy/Action Plan | |Department and Section: |Chief Executive’s | | |Public Relations | |Names and roles of officers completing this assessment: |Head of Public Relations | |Contact Telephone Numbers: |0116 305 6272 | |Date assessment completed: |5th March 2009 | |Defining the policy | | ...
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...Should All People Be Treated Equally in a Society? Egalitarianism (from French égal, meaning "equal") - or, rarely, equalitarianism - is a trend of thought that favors equality for particular categories of, or for all, living entities ("Egalitarianism"). Egalitarian doctrines maintain that all humans are equal in fundamental worth or social status. Equity is probably one of the most fundamental values common to all people in a society. Equity can be elusive; however, it is usually defined in terms of how equals are treated by government policies and the legal system, and how we decide who these equals are. The concept of equality is multifaceted; the literature on theories of equality is immense and the application of these theories is complex. My definition of equality is the state or quality of being equal. Should people be truly treated equally? Can it ever be possible to achieve true equality even if we wanted to? No. It’s just not in our nature nor is it fair to the citizens around us. It hides people’s true talents, will cause chaos without the government, and it isn’t fair financially. Besides, no one, no country, or nothing’s perfect. We shouldn’t or can’t force everyone into thinking they’re equal and should be treated the same, it’s just never going to happen. In the novel Animal Farm (Orwell), Orwell writes about a world where animals overthrow the oppressive farmer Mr. Jones and try to construct a society based on the founding principal that all animals are equal...
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...The case for equality In the case for equality, American political philosopher John Rawls claims that justice is to ask what principles we individuals would agree to in an initial situation of equality. His reason for that was because different people would favor different principles depending on their interests, religious views, backgrounds and social positions. He also reasoned that the two principles which we would not choose are going to be utilitarianism and libertarian. On the contrary, he believes the two principles of justice will be from the hypothetical contract which will firstly provide equality for all the citizens in terms of speech and other factors. The other principle involves social and economic equality. To understand Rawls principles of hypothetical contract, we should know that actual contract carry moral weight insofar as they realize two ideals which are autonomy and reciprocity. The author, Michael Sandel argues consent is not a sufficient condition of moral obligation as it does not guarantee fairness of an agreement and is not enough to create a binding moral claim. Sandel further states that “despite our tendency to read consent into every moral claim, it is hard to make sense of our moral lives without acknowledging the independent weight of reciprocity.” Rawls idea of hypothetical agreement as described by the author ensures equality. The veil of ignorance ensures equality of power and knowledge and that no one can take advantage. Rawls mentions...
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...Women’s Empowerment Principles www.unwomen.org /en/partnerships/businesses-and-foundations/womens-empowerment-principles Empowering women to participate fully in economic life across all sectors is essential to build stronger economies, achieve internationally agreed goals for development and sustainability, and improve the quality of life for women, men, families and communities. The private sector is a key partner in efforts to advance gender equality and empower women. Current research demonstrating that gender diversity helps businesses perform better signals that self-interest and common interest can come together. Yet, ensuring the inclusion of women’s talents, skills and energies— from executive offices to the factory floor and the supply chain—requires intentional actions and deliberate policies. The Women’s Empowerment Principles offer practical guidance to business and the private sector on how to empower women in the workplace, marketplace and community. Developed through a partnership between UN Women and the United Nations Global Compact, the Principles are designed to support companies in reviewing existing policies and practices—or establishing new ones—to realize women’s empowerment. In brief, the Principles are: 1. Establish high-level corporate leadership for gender equality 2. Treat all women and men fairly at work—respect and support human rights and nondiscrimination 3. Ensure the health, safety and well-being of all women and men workers ...
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...The principles of equity, equality, and need are most relevant in the context of distributive justice, but might play a role in a variety of social justice issues.[4] These principles all appeal to the notion of desert, the idea that fair treatment is a matter of giving people what they deserve. In general, people deserve to be rewarded for their effort and productivity, punished for their transgressions, treated as equal persons, and have their basic needs met. However, because these principles may come into conflict, it is often difficult to achieve all of these goals simultaneously. According to the principle of equity, a fair economic system is one that distributes goods to individuals in proportion to their input. While input typically comes in the form of productivity, ability or talent might also play a role. People who produce more or better products...either by working harder, or by being more talented, this argument goes, should be paid more for their efforts than should people who produce less. Note that this sort of distribution may not succeed in meeting the needs of all members of society. In addition, the idea that justice requires the unequal treatment of unequals is in tension with the principle of equality. This principle of egalitarianism suggests that the fairest allocation is one that distributes benefits and burdens equally among all parties. If there are profits of $100,000, and 10 people in the company, the principle of equality would suggest that...
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...unjustly distributed. For this paper I will exposit the writings of Ronald Dworkin and Norman Daniels’. Ronald Dworkin looks into how a nation should spend collectively on the treatment and tests each citizen might want and need. I will explicate on his idea that treating people as equals is best achieved by giving people equality of resources. Then, I will highlight Daniels argument that people have rights and entitlements to health care. He argues this by using the fair equality of opportunity principle. Both authors acknowledge that health care is necessary for the normal species to function, therefore no health need can be given priority over another. This paper will exemplify that health care is extremely vital to the condition of life as Dworkin and Daniels’ approaches to equality are phenomenal but not convincible. In “Justice and the High Cost of Health”, Ronald Dworkin argues that a morally just plan of health care in society would be whatever health care individuals decided to purchase on their own. This idea holds the belief that no health need can be given priority over another health need. The first condition to his argument is providing fair equality in the distribution of resources. The second is that individuals should be informed about the value and costs and side effects of medical procedures prior to considering them. Without a doubt individuals must also be informed about costs and benefits of alternative medical options. He also believes that the government...
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...Consulate Reforms betrayed the principles of the French Revolution" To what extent is this true? In napoleons consolidating section "he oversaw the development of a police state that Louis XVI could never had dreamed of" said Francois Furet. this was said to be achieved through a gradual increase in power through the series of reforms in which he would have completely changed the course of French History. Many of the key aspects of the french society which Napoleon reformed were for the Political, electoral systems as well as education, social, religious and financial. these reforms set out his path to his overall power being established, however this question also leads to the debate on wether he upheld the principles of the French Revolution, Liberty, Equality and Fraternity as people like Sutherland believes he has betrayed many of the principles with the majority of his reforms and as a result has betrayed the Revolutionary principles what the new republic were founded upon. Napoleon reformed key aspects of the French electoral and governmental systems in such a way that it lead many to believe he had betrayed the principles of the Revolution. One way in which people disagreed with that statement was because on the surface level the electoral reforms seemed to be a good thing, six million people were entitled to a vote, unlike the Ancien Regime, this promoted liberty and equality. Also another positive for the Revolutionary principles was the fact that there was...
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...political equality with men. Atar Derj Critically evaluate Plato’s defense of women’s political equality with men. Women’s Political Equality with Men Women’s Political Equality with Men Plato’s defence of women’s political equality with men What is “Equality”? Equality is very hard to define since people disagree on its real meaning, as stated Dworkin: “People who praise it or disparage it disagree about what they are praising or disparaging” (2000, p. 2). So before going into the argumentation about women’s political equality with men, the term equality should be defined first to avoid any misconception. Equality means the correspondence between persons or circumstances which have the same qualities in at least one feature. However, equality is different from the term similarity that refers to the approximate correspondence. Thus, when they say men are equal, it doesn’t mean that they are identical or the same, but it rather mean that they are similar in some points. When a judgment of equality is made, it is more about the difference between the compared things. Whenever equality is implied in a topic, the question “equal in respect to what?” follows (Rae 1981, p.132 f.). Equality is often related to morality, and considered as a feature of justice in general. But how equality and justice...
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...are facing as a country and how we have began to fight for equality. It states “We became familiar with liberation moverments for Spanish-Americans, gay people, and a variety of other minorities” (P. Singer, 1989). Liberation movements changed the way society viewed discrimination and how we equally treat “minorities.” A liberation movement demands an expansion of our moral horizons and an extension or reinterpretation of the basic moral principle of equality. And it’s sad to say, but if we wish to avoid being numbered amongst the oppressors, we must be prepared to re-think even our most fundamental attitudes. As P. Singer states, “I am urging that we extend to other species (animals) the basic principle of equality that most of us recognize should be extended to all members of our own species” (1989). Singer then focus’ on women’s rights and how fighting for women’s rights isn’t sound. He goes on to make the claim “if women’s rights are sound when applied to women, why should the argument not be applied to dogs, cats, and horses?” (P. Singer, 1989). One way which we might reply to this argument is by saying that the case for equality between men and women cannot validly be extended to nonhuman animals. It might be said men and women are similar beings and should have equal rights, while humans and nonhumans are different and should not have equal rights. “The basic principle of equality, I shall argue, is equality of consideration: and equal consideration for different beings...
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...According to Phelps (1987), Distributive justice concerns the nature of a socially just distribution of goods in a society. A society where related inequalities in outcome do not surface would be considered a society guided by the principles of distributive justice. The concept includes the available quantities of goods, the process by which goods are to be distributed, and the resulting distribution of the goods to the members of the society. Distributive justice concentrates on outcomes. (Phelps, 1987) Distribution in economics refers to the way total output, income, or wealth is distributed among individuals or among the factors of production. Factors included in this are labor, land, and capital (Atkins, Bourguignin, ed., 2000). In general theory and the national income and product accounts, each unit of output corresponds to a unit of income. One use of national accounts is for classifying factor incomes and measuring their individual shares, as in National Income (Atkins, Bourguignin, ed., 2000). But, where focus is on income of persons or households, adjustments to the national accounts or other data sources are frequently used. Here, interest is often on the fraction of income on the factors that might affect them such as, globalization, tax policy, technology, etc.. (Atkins, Bourguignin, ed., 2000) Governments continuously make and change laws affecting the distribution of economic benefits and goods in their societies. Almost all changes, from the standard tax...
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...interest among US companies to corporate social responsibility as a way to benefit both the community and the organization. This paper will briefly compare and contrast the various theories of economic Justice of Fairness, Distributive Justice, Utilitarianism, Capitalism and Morality, and Socialism; and reveal the one theory I believe to be the most practical; and the best theory of economic justice as it applies to the “fairness in hiring and promotions, and employees’ rights and duties.” Justice of Fairness includes components of the Principle of Liberty that every one deserve the right to basic liberties; and the Principle of Equality falls in line with the distributive justice for social and economic liberties to be arranged so that they are the greatest benefit of the least advantaged and fair equality of opportunity. Rawls’ point of view on the Justice as Fairness is to be fair and impartial in making decisions about fundamental principles of justice. In order to adopt this point of view is to insure impartiality of judgment, remove any knowledge of personal general...
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...animal-rights-library.com/texts-m/singer02.htm. In recent years a number of oppressed groups have campaigned vigorously for equality. The classic instance is the Black Liberation movement, which demands an end to the prejudice and discrimination that has made blacks second-class citizens. The immediate appeal of the black liberation movement and its initial, if limited, success made it a model for other oppressed groups to follow. We became familiar with liberation movements for Spanish-Americans, gay people, and a variety of other minorities. When a majority group— women—began their campaign, some thought we had come to the end of the road. Discrimination on the basis of sex, it has been said, is the last universally accepted form of discrimination, practiced without secrecy or pretense even in those liberal circles that have long prided themselves on their freedom from prejudice against racial minorities. One should always be wary of talking of "the last remaining form of discrimination." If we have learnt anything from the liberation movements, we should have learnt how difficult it is to be aware of latent prejudice in our attitudes to particular groups until this prejudice is forcefully pointed out. A liberation movement demands an expansion of our moral horizons and an extension or reinterpretation of the basic moral principle of equality. Practices that were previously regarded as natural and inevitable come to be seen as the result of an unjustifiable prejudice...
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