Distributive Justice Principles

Distributive Justice Principles from Political Economists (Below)
Distributive justice takes many forms. People write about principles, but there are no really pure forms.
Most countries and cultures use multiple principles.
For Other Distributive Justice Approaches

Altruism is being unselfishly devoted to the welfare of others.
Examples: Giving to others without concern about returns to one's self.

Communist distributive justice is when each person contributes according to ability and each person receives according to need.
Examples: The idea is expressed by Marx and Engels in the Communist Manifesto. The former Soviet Union, Cuba, North Vietnam, and Maoist China worked toward this ideal, but conform more to the definition of state socialist systems.

Compassionate conservatism is the George W. Bush Administration approach. Also see Marvin Olasky, Compassionate Conservatism: What it is, What it Does, and How it Can Transform America (2000).

Corporate capitalism gives large multinational corporations (MNC) control of markets. Control is achieved through market share, sometimes called "Winner-Take-All Markets." In addition political influence, subsidies, tax breaks, and corruption are mechanisms used by large corporations to gain market share.
Examples: The comparison of corporation revenues with the GDP of nations. Most MNCs are found in the United States, Japan, and Western Europe. Also look at the winner-take-all society.

Democratic socialist, also known as welfare democracy, distributive justice has a system of social insurance to help people who are disadvantaged. It incorporates free-market principles in producing goods and services with general principles about compassion and concern for others. Some economic sectors like health care, transportation, aerospace, energy distribution may be government owned or controlled (Scupin, Cultural Anthropology, 1998:247).
Examples: European democratic socialist countries like Denmark, Sweden, The Netherlands. Japan is another example. For a non-governmental model see the Mondragon Cooperatives For more on socialism.

Egalitarian pluralism distributive justice is when everyone has a say in decisions and no person feels they will be injured by choices made by the group.
Examples: foragers like the Tasaday, San, Yahi. The Gabra and Weyewa in the film, A Poor Man Shames Us All, too, illustrate wealth leveling, egalitarian principles. Proposed by some as a future world order. The writings of John Rawls, A Theory of Justice (1971) discusses this approach to distributive justice.

Laissez-faire capitalist distributive justice is when people, businesses, and corporations act based on their individual self-interest for their own benefit. The primary role of government is to allow a free and fair market system, as well as to protect individuals, businesses and corporations from having the benefits of their actions appropriated by others.
Examples: the ideals of the founders of the U.S. Constitution, particularly Thomas Jefferson. Most closely approximated in 19th Century America. See the writings of Adam Smith and Ayn Rand. For a discussion of capitalism.

Libertarian distributive justice is where each person is responsible for their own future no matter what happens. Heavy emphasis is given to free-market principles and protection of property rights.
Examples: emerging markets, economic globalization, free trade, conservative and libertarian politics in the United States. See Charles Murray, What It Means to be a Libertarian (1997) and Robert Nozick, Anarchy, State, and Utopia (1974). For positions of the Libertarian Party.

Pareto optimality is choosing the greatest good, but what society choses should not make any person worse off.
Examples: Very similar to egalitarian pluralism. The test of no one feeling injured would assure that no person is made worse off, at least not by choice. See Vilfredo Pareto, Cours d'Economie Politique (1897). This also matches Buddhist philosophy about individual gain being acceptable if the reasons for trying to amass it are good.

State or national capitalist distributive justice is when government operates the nation's industries to maximize profits.
Examples: Brazil from after World War II and through the 1970s. Singapore, China, and Russia are current examples. See State Captialism, The Economist, Special Report, January 21, 2012.

State socialist distributive justice is a system where the government or a central authority controls the production of goods and services.

Examples: The former Soviet Union from 1918 to 1989 practiced state socialism. The socialist nations of Central Europe under communism. See the book What Was Socialism and What Comes Next? India from independence from the British in 1947 to the early 1990s illustrated this system.

Structured inequality is where social goals structure benefits for one group over another.

Examples include discrimination against groups through apartheid, caste, colonialism, imperialism, discrimination. Structured inequality can also be used to help specific groups such as reducing poverty among the elderly through Social Security in the United States. Affirmative action, tax preferences for families, and anti-discrimination clauses are other example.

Turbo capitalism a popularized variant of laissez-faire capitalism in which speed, creativity, and productivity amass maximum short-term profits. Turbo capitalists move quickly into an industry and capture maximum profit and leave. They purchase a company and extract as much value as possible and sell.
Examples: The corporate buyouts of the 1990s in the United States. The dot.com bubble that burst after March 2000. Enron, Global Crossing, WorldCom, Tyco. See Turbo Capitalism: Winners and Losers in the Global Economy by Edward Luttwak, reviewed in Business Week March March 29, 1999, New Internationalist, March 2001 (Volume 343).

Utilitarianism is the majority chooses what will produce the greatest good for the greatest number of people.
Democratic decision making would meet this criteria. Utilitarianism is the philosophic basis of benefit-cost analysis. If the benefits exceed the costs, the assumption is that the project does the greatest good for the greatest number. Jeremy Bentham defined utilitarianism in the 19th century.

Utopian socialist distributive justice is when members of a community put the means of production in collective decision making structure.
Examples: Robert Owen's community at New Lanmark, Scotland.

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Wealth & Poverty Page	Top	Links	Court's World	OSU

Distributive Justice Principles from Political Economists (Below)

For Other Distributive Justice Approaches

contact info Updated:Saturday, 28-Jan-2012 20:26:52 PST URL is http://oregonstate.edu/instruction/anth484/wpdjp.html

contact info
Updated:Saturday, 28-Jan-2012 20:26:52 PST
URL is http://oregonstate.edu/instruction/anth484/wpdjp.html