Thomas Hobbes (1588-1679)

1. Thomas Hobbes (1588-1679) • Fear of others in the state of nature (apart from society) prompts people to form governments through a social contract • State power/authority (the sovereign) is based on the choice of subjects that there be one will. Since the sovereign determines what is right, rebellion against the sovereign is unjustified • As brutal as a State may be, it is always better than having no State or government

2. John Locke (1632-1704) • We have God-given rights to our lives, liberty, property (e.g., bodies) • We establish governments to clarify & protect our natural rights. State authority is thus based on the consent of the people, who can rebel against the State if it fails to respect our rights • Tacit consent is given by anyone who lives in a country and is protected by its laws

3. Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712-78) • I am obligated to obey the law only if it is self-imposed. Externally-imposed laws are based on force and are not morally legitimate • The social contract is our tacit agreement to abide by the general will, which is what we all will for ourselves as members of a community • Objection: consent is often uninformed and unavoidable (Hume)

4. Contemporary Liberalism:John Rawls: Justice as Fairness • All citizens should share in a society’s wealth and be given equal economic opportunities • In a just society, rational individuals under a veil of ignorance about their original position in the society should endorse a theory that: • gives everyone as much liberty as possible • allows for the unequal distribution of wealth only when the existence of such inequalities benefits everyone and is accessible to everyone

5. Critiques of Social Contract Theories • Communitarianism: the State’s authority does not depend on the consent of individuals; rather, individuals depend on the State for their fulfillment and identity (Aristotle, Hegel) • Feminism: because women typically are expected to focus on private (family) matters, they are excluded from full participation in the social contract Susan Okin

6. Types of Justice • Retributive justice: punishment/reward given to someone for something he/she has done • Distributive justice: the distribution of goods, services, or responsibilities based on: • productivity and merit (Plato) • social utility, public interest (J. S. Mill) • need and ability (socialism: Marx) • equal opportunity (welfare liberalism: Rawls) • ownership of property, entitlement, free choices (classical liberalism:Nozick)

7. Karl Marx(1818-85) • Human beings are naturally inclined to work and be sociable. Capitalism alienates us from the products of our labor and thus alienates us from ourselves and others • Only communal ownership of property can counteract social alienation

8. Types of Justice • Retributive justice: punishment/reward given to someone for something he/she has done • Distributive justice: the distribution of goods, services, or responsibilities based on: • productivity and merit (Plato) • social utility, public interest (J. S. Mill) • need and ability (socialism: Marx) • equal opportunity (welfare liberalism: Rawls) • ownership of property, entitlement, free choices (classical liberalism:Nozick)

9. Minimal State (Entitlement) Theory:Robert Nozick • We are entitled to use our property as we see fit. The State’s legitimate power is limited to preventing harm and protecting property rights • Taxation for anything other than protection (e.g, to impose a pattern to redistribute wealth) is unjust because it ignores how goods are acquired fairly through trade, labor, gifts, etc.