green numbers give full details | back to texts | expand these ideas
| 20489 | Human beings can never really flourish in a long-term state of nature |
| 20483 | Collective rationality is individuals doing their best, assuming others all do the same |
| 20532 | Should love be the first virtue of a society, as it is of the family? |
| 20490 | For utilitarians, consent to the state is irrelevant, if it produces more happiness |
| 20493 | Social contract theory has the attracton of including everyone, and being voluntary |
| 20494 | Maybe voting in elections is a grant of legitimacy to the winners |
| 20500 | We can see the 'general will' as what is in the general interest |
| 20497 | How can dictators advance the interests of the people, if they don't consult them about interests? |
| 20506 | 'Separation of powers' allows legislative, executive and judicial functions to monitor one another |
| 20530 | Political choice can be by utility, or maximin, or maximax |
| 20487 | A realistic and less utopian anarchism looks increasingly like liberal democracy |
| 20488 | It is hard for anarchists to deny that we need experts |
| 20529 | Utilitarianism probably implies a free market plus welfare |
| 20510 | A system of democracy which includes both freedom and equality is almost impossible |
| 20511 | Democracy expresses equal respect (which explains why criminals forfeit the vote) |
| 20502 | Democracy has been seen as consistent with many types of inequality |
| 20496 | A true democracy could not tolerate slavery, exploitation or colonialism |
| 20498 | We should decide whether voting is for self-interests, or for the common good |
| 20499 | Condorcet proved that sensible voting leads to an emphatically right answer |
| 20509 | Occasional defeat is acceptable, but a minority that is continually defeated is a problem |
| 20524 | Market prices indicate shortages and gluts, and where the profits are to be made |
| 20518 | Liberty principles can't justify laws against duelling, incest between siblings and euthanasia |
| 20531 | Either Difference allows unequal liberty, or Liberty makes implementing Difference impossible |
| 20526 | Utilitarians argue for equal distribution because of diminishing utility of repetition |
| 20528 | Difference Principle: all inequalities should be in favour of the disadvantaged |
| 20503 | Political equality is not much use without social equality |
| 20513 | If natural rights are axiomatic, there is then no way we can defend them |
| 20512 | Standard rights: life, free speech, assembly, movement, vote, stand (plus shelter, food, health?) |
| 20514 | If rights are natural, rather than inferred, how do we know which rights we have? |
| 20522 | Utilitarians might say property ownership encourages the best use of the land |
| 20534 | Rights and justice are only the last resorts of a society, something to fall back on |
| 20492 | Following some laws is not a moral matter; trivial traffic rules, for example |