A Pluralist Theory of Justice: Walzer’s Spheres of Justice

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Küçük Resim

Tarih

2000 Haziran

Dergi Başlığı

Dergi ISSN

Cilt Başlığı

Yayıncı

Selçuk Üniversitesi

Erişim Hakkı

info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess

Özet

In this study, we will argue that a successful theory of justice should not be abstract in the sense that an abstracted single principle (or a set of interconnected principles) of justice applies to the distribution of all (basic or primary) social, economic and political goods across spheres and should not be universal in the sense that a single criterion (or a single set of criteria) applies across all societies regardless of cultural differences, but must be pluralistic in both aspects. This is, not only because of the cultural diversity displayed by history but also because there are, as Walzer successfully points out, different spheres of distribution to which different distributive principles of justice should apply. However, our position is neither to fully accept nor to deny the pluralist perspective that rejects the existence of any such fundamental principle or criterion. This means that we do not maintain a pluralist approach that may only be constructed as oppose to universalism or rational theorising. We think justice is complex and, thus, principles of it must be pluralist in nature, but this does not require us to deny the principles of justice suggested by the abstract and universal theories of justice altogether. What it does mean is that, firstly, each principle introduced by a different abstract theory of justice may still apply across spheres, spheres as characterised by Walzer. This implies that each specific good is not necessarily distributed according to a different principle of justice, but a set of (a certain category of) goods, for example the goods that are relevant to satisfy the basic human needs, may be distributed according to a single principle. Secondly, a distributive criterion can still remain universally applicable in that it may be applicable across societies although as intrinsic to a certain distribution sphere. Taken together, an equality principle based on the need criterion can be universally applicable within the sphere of medical care in the sense of Walzerian spheres across communities and societies. Miller believes that Walzer's theory of justice can best be used as a departing point for developing a pluralist approach to social justice. Therefore, the following subsections will explore Walzer's pluralist or, in other words, multi-criterial theory of social justice.

Açıklama

Anahtar Kelimeler

Kaynak

Selçuk Üniversitesi Hukuk Fakültesi Dergisi

WoS Q Değeri

Scopus Q Değeri

Cilt

8

Sayı

1-2

Künye

Balı, A. Ş., (2000). A Pluralist Theory of Justice: Walzer’s Spheres of Justice. Selçuk Üniversitesi Hukuk Fakültesi Dergisi, 8(1-2), 353-378.