The meaning and theories of justice and how far the law achieves it

Overview

Recall questions on the meaning of justice, distributive, corrective and procedural justice, the theories of Aristotle, Rawls, Nozick and Marx, and how far the legal system achieves justice through appeals, the Criminal Cases Review Commission and juries, set against legal aid cuts and strict liability.

What you need to know

Answer each one before you reveal it.

Questions from this subtopic

Each one with the model answer underneath.

1. 1

   What is meant by justice, and why might law and justice not always coincide?

   Model answer

   Justice refers to fairness and the proper application of law. Although law aims to achieve justice, unjust laws can exist, meaning law and justice do not always coincide.

2. 2

   What is distributive justice?

   Model answer

   Justice concerned with how benefits and burdens are shared out across a society.

3. 3

   What is corrective justice?

   Model answer

   Justice concerned with putting right a wrong between two parties, which is the concern of the courts.

4. 4

   What did Aristotle contribute to theories of justice?

   Model answer

   The distinction between distributive justice, allocating goods proportionally to merit, and corrective justice, restoring the balance after a wrong.

5. 5

   What is Rawls's theory of justice?

   Model answer

   That principles of justice are those which rational people would choose behind a veil of ignorance, not knowing their own place in society.

6. 6

   What is Rawls's difference principle?

   Model answer

   That inequalities are just only if they work to the benefit of the least advantaged members of society.

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