Assignment task: Do football players deserve to earn millions of dollars versus an elementary school teacher who earns an average of $53,000? Football player's fortunes are based on some combination of genetics, talent, and hard work. Which profession brings more value to society?
Merit and need are additional and often conflicting values when engaging in reflection on justice and empowerment and what is a fair share of society's resources.
Merit is the idea that justice requires that you get what you deserve and have earned.
Need is a value that requires some sort of assistance when you can't help yourself so that you can get back on your feet.
Let's look at some other examples.
You have studied hard for two weeks for a biology test and receive a low B. Your high IQ friend parties for the two weeks, skims the study notes for an hour and aces the test, raising the curve and gets the only A in the class. Is this a fair result if the measure for justice is merit? Your friend's high IQ is an accident of birth and can't in any way be said to be deserved. Certainly that person's work ethic isn't a factor in the test success.
Now let's look at the same example through the lens of need. Your biology TA makes the instructor aware that your low B has negatively impacted your self esteem. Would the instructor be just in raising the grade to a B to inspire you on the reasonable assumption that you may go on to complete the course with a B+ and then go to med school, become a doctor, and save lives. Such a result would clearly offend the notion of justice as what you deserve though it could be said to serve a larger long-term good.
At the societal level, merit and need can conflict on a number of issues including affirmative action and financial social assistance programs. We will consider these issues more in depth when we look at the libertarian and modern liberal theories of justice.
Read the article above then answer the following questions.
For Peter Singer and the counterarguments,
A) Define their view of what justice requires to address global poverty and the main reasons why proponents of each perspective believe their view is the right one. Be sure to also address the following:
B) What generations of human rights do these arguments relate to?
C) What sources/forms of power does Singer use to make his argument
D) Which of these views of what justice requires of you in the face of global poverty do you agree/disagree with and why?