Spheres of Justice: A Defense of Pluralism and Equality

doi:10.2307/2026330

Journal Article•DOI•

Spheres of Justice: A Defense of Pluralism and Equality

01 Jan 1985-The Philosophical Review (Basil Blackwell)-Vol. 83, Iss: 1, pp 142

TL;DR: Lawler as mentioned in this paper argued that being for the freeze means that one is not for disarmament, which is hardly a rational position in the sense that it is suspect if not immoral, in the eyes of some.

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Abstract: that a plurality of the American Catholic bishops endorse a nuclear freeze (p. 4), saying that they are thus "taking their stance with Moscow,55 which is for a freeze, and not with the Vatican, which "is still in favor of disarmament?not a freeze.55 To make any sense at all, Mr. Lawler must mean that being for the freeze means that one is not for disarmament? hardly a rational position. One recalls here the arguments, during the 19305s and 19405s, that being for racial justice in the United States was suspect if not immoral, in the eyes of some, because the communists also favored it.

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Journal Article•DOI•

Voting for an ethnic identity: procedural and institutional responses to ethnic conflict in Ethiopia

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Lahra Smith¹•Institutions (1)

Georgetown University¹

01 Dec 2007-Journal of Modern African Studies

TL;DR: The Siltie case as mentioned in this paper suggests that formal political institutions have a limited, though important, role in resolving contested citizenship claims, and raises vital questions about the challenges of procedural solutions in the context of contested citizenship and democratic transition in sub-Saharan Africa.

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Abstract: The literature on democratisation in diverse and divided societies suggests that procedural and institutional innovations can help create the conditions for democracy by adjudicating among groups with competing claims for recognition and inclusion. Some of the most critical assumptions about the relationship between ethnic identity and formal political institutions have been tested in Ethiopia since the early 199os. Ethnic federalism is a unique and controversial attempt to account for the contested nature of ethnic identities in contemporary Ethiopian politics through a variety of mechanisms, including the use of a referendum to determine ethnic identity. In 2oo0 the Siltie people voted to separate from the Gurage ethnic group. With this political manoeuvre, the Siltie accessed greater levels of political power and greater resources, but also recognition under the constitutional arrangement as a distinct ethnic group. The Siltie case suggests that formal political institutions have a limited, though important, role in resolving contested citizenship claims. At the same time, it raises vital questions about the challenges of procedural solutions in the context of contested citizenship and democratic transition in sub-Saharan Africa.

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34 citations

Cites background from "Spheres of Justice: A Defense of Pl..."

...…and others wish to reverse this trend because they point to a lack of social solidarity and social cohesion which is created when citizenship is understood as merely or even primarily as status (Etzioni et al. 2004; MacIntyre 1981; Oldfield 1990; Sandel 1982; Taylor 1995; Walzer 1983)....
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Journal Article•DOI•

It's Only Wrong If It's Transactional: Moral Perceptions of Obfuscated Exchange

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Oliver Schilke, Gabriel Rossman¹•Institutions (1)

University of California, Los Angeles¹

02 Nov 2018-American Sociological Review

TL;DR: Results show that structural obfuscation effectively mitigates audiences’ moral offense at disreputable exchanges and that the effects are substantially mediated by perceived attributional opacity, transactionalism, and collective validity.

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Abstract: A wide class of economic exchanges, such as bribery and compensated adoption, are considered morally disreputable precisely because they are seen as economic exchanges. However, parties to these ex...

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33 citations

Cites background from "Spheres of Justice: A Defense of Pl..."

...…to economic transactions precisely because they are seen as putting prices on things belonging in non-market contexts (Krawiec 2009; Sandel 2000; Walzer 1983).2 We define disreputable exchange as provision of goods or services that is culturally prohibited, where the moral objection is…...
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...Sublimated transactionalism, in turn, is often more palatable because it helps one stay clear of moral limits to fungibility (Espeland and Stevens 1998; Sandel 2000; Walzer 1983)....
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...Paying for political favors or sex is disreputable specifically because it breaches the moral limits to fungibility of market and non-market goods (Espeland and Stevens 1998; Sandel 2000; Walzer 1983)....
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...This article draws on and contributes to several research streams, most notably work in sociology, anthropology, economics, law, and philosophy on exchange and contested commodities (Bourdieu 2000; Fiske 1992; Krawiec 2009; Molm 2003; Roth 2007; Sandel 2000; Walzer 1983; Zelizer 2005)....
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Posted Content•

Precarious Residents: Migration Control, Membership and the Rights of Non-Citizens

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Matthew J. Gibney

01 Apr 2009-Research Papers in Economics

TL;DR: In this paper, the authors examine the situation of a subgroup of non-citizens found in virtually all contemporary states, what they call "precarious residents" and explore its dimensions, causes and manifestations in different national contexts.

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Abstract: This paper examines the situation of a subgroup of non-citizens found in virtually all contemporary states, what I call “precarious residents”. Precarious residents can be defined as non-citizens living in the state that possess few social, political or economic rights, are highly vulnerable to deportation, and have little or no option for making secure their immigration status. The archetypal precarious resident is the undocumented (or unlawful) migrant. However, there are many other barely tolerated individuals who also fit the appellation, such as asylum seekers (including ones whose claims have been rejected), guest workers, and individuals with temporary protection from deportation. I begin this paper by exploring the nature of precarious residence, discussing its dimensions, causes and manifestations in different national contexts. I move then to consider the human development consequences of precarious residence before exploring the question of the responsibilities of states to protect the rights and, in some cases, recognize the membership claims of these non-citizens.

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33 citations

Cites background from "Spheres of Justice: A Defense of Pl..."

...of Non-Citizens...
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...One influential one derives the legitimacy of entrance control from the right of peoples to preserve or maintain their ethnic, cultural or national identity (Walzer 1983, Miller 2008)....
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Journal Article•DOI•

Civic Disparities: Exploring Students' Perceptions of Citizenship within Singapore's Academic Tracks

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Li-Ching Ho¹, Theresa Alviar-Martin¹, Jasmine B.-Y. Sim¹, Pui San Yap¹•Institutions (1)

Nanyang Technological University¹

01 Apr 2011-Theory and Research in Social Education

TL;DR: In this paper, the authors investigate how Singapore students from different educational tracks understand their role as citizens in a democracy and demonstrate sharp disparities in how citizenship and democracy are conceptualized by students from the different education tracks.

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Abstract: Drawing on individual interviews with 62 students from three secondary schools, the authors of this study investigate how Singapore students from different educational tracks understand their role as citizens in a democracy. In contrast to most countries, the constitutionally democratic state of Singapore explicitly assigns separate citizenship roles to students from different education tracks. Premised on the principle of meritocracy, the Singapore state has also developed separate citizenship education programs incorporating different values, skills, and knowledge for students from the academic and vocational tracks. The study illustrates sharp disparities in how citizenship and democracy is conceptualized by students from the different education tracks. The differences in civic efficacy, learning outcomes, knowledge, and skills also closely parallel the different goals of the social studies and citizenship education programs for students from the academic and vocational tracks.

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33 citations

Cites background from "Spheres of Justice: A Defense of Pl..."

...…than objective, impartial, and just, critics assert that it is not possible to be totally impartial in assessing merit criteria through the use of neutral measures of performance because these criteria frequently include normative values and cultural assumptions (Walzer, 1983; I. M. Young, 2002)....
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...Additionally, even though the Singapore state has attempted to depoliticize the ideology of merit and has frequently sought to play down the possibility of school-based assessments and qualification criteria being less than objective, impartial, and just, critics assert that it is not possible to be totally impartial in assessing merit criteria through the use of neutral measures of performance because these criteria frequently include normative values and cultural assumptions (Walzer, 1983; I. M. Young, 2002)....
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...Adopting a more utilitarian argument, Walzer (1983) equates educational equality to welfare provision, because “all children, conceived as future citizens, have the same need to know, and … the ideal of membership is best served if they are all taught the same things” (p. 203)....
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...Critics contend that these policies create a hierarchical class system within the education system that mirrors and reinforces existing class and racial divisions within society (Walzer, 1983)....
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Journal Article•DOI•

Locke's Political Anthropology and Lockean Individualism

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Ruth W. Grant¹•Institutions (1)

Duke University¹

01 Feb 1988-The Journal of Politics

TL;DR: Locke's anthropological accounts do not depict isolated individuals whose behavior is governed by rational calculations of their interests as mentioned in this paper, but instead, they acknowledge the strength of traditional social bonds and traditional social norms in our common life.

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Abstract: Locke's anthropological accounts do not depict isolated individuals whose behavior is governed by rational calculations of their interests. He is not an "atomistic" individualist; he acknowledges what communitarian critics of liberalism claim that liberals do not acknowledgethe extent to which men are social beings. Nonetheless, his political theory is individualistic as a normative theory of individual natural rights. Locke seeks to combat authoritarianism by altering the relation between admittedly powerful social forces and political rights. The combination of his individualistic political theory and his recognition of the anthropological record of traditional authority gives rise to difficulties in his work concerning consent, the rule of law, and party politics. Locke was fascinated with travelers' accounts of exotic places, and his library contained a substantial collection of travel journals (Dunn, 1967, n. 77; Laslett, 1963, pp. 149-61). He was interested in tales of the lives and customs of primitive peoples, but not merely as a collector of exotic facts. He made use of this material in two important disputes: first, he used the variety of forms of early political organization as evidence against the patriarchalists, and second, he used the variety of customs to be found in different societies as evidence against the doctrine of innate ideas. In the political dispute, Locke's anthropological evidence illustrates how political societies develop from pre-political family groups.' In the epistemological dispute, the anthropological evidence serves to show not only the variety of customs to be found in different societies, but also the strength of custom everywhere in shaping the opinions that govern men's behavior. In neither case does Locke's anthropology depict isolated individuals whose behavior is governed by rational calculations of their interests. Instead, Locke's descriptions of primitive societies acknowledge the strength of traditional social bonds and of traditional social norms in our common life. Yet Locke is generally characterized both as a political individualist and as a kind of intellectual individualist, an advocate of the independent use of the faculty of reason against * An earlier version of this paper was delivered at the American Political Science Association

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33 citations

Cites background from "Spheres of Justice: A Defense of Pl..."

...Walzer tries to combine the liberal principle that obligation can arise only from individual consent with a more sociologically "realistic" view of the individual than the "abstract" view he attributes to classical liberalism (Walzer, 1970, 1984, p. 324)....
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Spheres of Justice: A Defense of Pluralism and Equality

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