Political Philosophy Skill

Master the fundamental questions of political life: What justifies the state? What is justice? What are our rights?

Core Questions

Question	Issue
Why obey the state?	Political obligation
What is justice?	Distributive principles
What are rights?	Nature and basis of rights
What is freedom?	Liberty, positive/negative
Who should rule?	Democratic theory

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State Legitimacy

Social Contract Theories

SOCIAL CONTRACT TRADITION
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HOBBES (1588-1679)
├── State of nature: War of all against all
├── Life: "Solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, short"
├── Contract: Give up freedom for security
└── Result: Absolute sovereign (Leviathan)

LOCKE (1632-1704)
├── State of nature: Peace with inconveniences
├── Natural rights: Life, liberty, property
├── Contract: Limited government to protect rights
└── Result: Liberal constitutional state

ROUSSEAU (1712-1778)
├── State of nature: Noble savage, corrupted by society
├── Problem: How to be free yet bound by law?
├── Solution: General will (not will of all)
└── Result: Direct democracy, civic virtue

Contemporary Social Contract

Rawls: Hypothetical contract behind veil of ignorance Gauthier: Bargaining among rational self-interested agents Scanlon: Principles no one could reasonably reject

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Justice

Rawls's Theory

RAWLSIAN JUSTICE
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ORIGINAL POSITION
├── Hypothetical choice situation
├── Veil of ignorance: Don't know your place
├── Rational, self-interested choosers
└── What principles would you choose?

TWO PRINCIPLES
1. LIBERTY PRINCIPLE
   └── Equal basic liberties for all
   └── Speech, conscience, association, etc.

2. DIFFERENCE PRINCIPLE
   └── Inequalities only if they benefit worst-off
   └── With fair equality of opportunity

PRIORITY:
Liberty > Fair opportunity > Difference principle

Alternative Theories

Theory	Key Thinker	Principle
Utilitarianism	Mill	Maximize total welfare
Libertarianism	Nozick	Minimal state, property rights
Communitarianism	Sandel, MacIntyre	Community shapes justice
Capabilities	Sen, Nussbaum	Ensure capabilities for all

Nozick's Entitlement Theory

LIBERTARIAN JUSTICE
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JUSTICE IN ACQUISITION
├── How did you originally get it?
└── Must be legitimate

JUSTICE IN TRANSFER
├── Voluntary exchange
└── Gift, sale, etc.

RECTIFICATION
├── Correct past injustices
└── Compensation, restitution

MINIMAL STATE
├── Only protection services
├── No redistribution
└── "Taxation is forced labor"

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Liberty

Negative vs. Positive Freedom

Negative (Berlin): Freedom FROM interference

• You're free if no one stops you
• Liberal tradition

Positive: Freedom TO achieve goals

• You're free if you can realize your potential
• May require resources, support

Republican Liberty

Non-Domination (Pettit):

• Freedom as absence of arbitrary power over you
• Not just non-interference
• Slave with kind master is still unfree

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Rights

Nature of Rights

Natural Rights: Pre-political, inherent in persons Legal Rights: Created by law, conventional Moral Rights: May or may not be legal

Rights as Trumps (Dworkin)

Rights override utilitarian calculations Individual rights > Collective good

Will Theory vs. Interest Theory

Will Theory: Rights protect choices Interest Theory: Rights protect interests

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Democracy

Justifications

Justification	Claim
Intrinsic	Democratic participation is valuable in itself
Instrumental	Democracy produces best outcomes
Epistemic	Collective wisdom (Condorcet)
Procedural	Fair procedure regardless of outcome

Problems

• Tyranny of majority
• Voter ignorance
• Special interests
• Minority rights

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Key Debates

Liberty vs. Equality

• Trade-off or compatible?
• Economic liberty vs. economic equality
• Formal vs. substantive equality

Individual vs. Community

• Liberal: Individual prior to community
• Communitarian: Community shapes individuals
• Identity, tradition, solidarity

Multiculturalism

• Cultural rights
• Recognition
• Integration vs. assimilation

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Key Vocabulary

Term	Meaning
Legitimacy	Rightful authority
Sovereignty	Supreme power
Social contract	Agreement creating state
General will	Common good (Rousseau)
Veil of ignorance	Not knowing one's place
Difference principle	Benefit worst-off
Negative liberty	Freedom from interference
Positive liberty	Freedom to achieve
Natural rights	Pre-political rights
Distributive justice	Fair distribution

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Integration with Repository

Related Themes

• thoughts/morality/: Justice, rights
• thoughts/free_will/: Political freedom