One way to think about justice is to raise the question of rights and where they come from. Following elements
of John Locke's political philosophy, modern libertarians such as Robert Nozick maintain that we are born with
certain basic entitlements. Principal among these so called natural rights are liberty and property. Questions of
a just society for Nozick, then, become questions of how to best safe guard our right to liberty generally and, in
particular, our right to private property and free exchange. Others, such as John Rawls, reject the idea that we
have rights independent from societal inclusion. One way of putting it is that from the communitarian
perspective all rights are civil, not natural, in origin. For many of this viewpoint justice then becomes a question
of protecting the principals agreed upon for social living. Write a 4-6 page essay for a general reader that: 1)
Lays out what a Lockean right or natural right is supposed to be; 2) Explains how such rights are supposed to
relate to Nozick's entitlement theory of just distribution; 3) Demonstrates how Nozick uses the Wilt Chamberlin
example to argue for his preferred view; 4) Raises the question of society and natural rights by considering
Rawls' focus on the original position and fairness; 5) Shows how the veil of ignorance is supposed to work and
why ignorance might be required in thinking about justice; 6) Says what two principles allegedly fall out of the
veil of ignorance and why Rawls thinks free exchange must be conditioned by equality of opportunity; and, 7)
Explores in some detail the possible implications of these two different approaches to justice and economic
distribution for the poverty case study outlined in section 3.3 of chapter 3. You may advance a thesis if you
choose but be sure to offer reasons for the view you wish to defend. In writing for a general reader you should
assume very little by way of background knowledge. In particular, make sure you do not address your remarks
directly to me or anyone familar with the essay prompt or our other course materials (including our text). In this
regard it is very useful to include an introductory paragraph that both presents your overall ethical concern in a
way that would capture a general readers attention and provides a sketch of what you plan to say about it.
Avoid bullet points and make sure your paragraphs bear some relation to one another and to carrying out the
agenda presented in the introduction.
Sample Solution