Distributive justice: a third world response to recent american thought (part I)

Abstract

It is shown, by na analysis of the concept of a community, that every individual enjoys two basic rights, a right to survival and a right to participation. It is argued that this underveloped communities must give a greater priority to guaranteeing the rights to participation and to survival of all  their members than to satisfying any other needs. It is argued that the state has the right to tranfer goods in such a way as to guarantee these absic needs. Nozick’s  arguments that there is no such right are critically examined and reject. Hayek’s

Claim that the concept of justice can only be applied to individuals, and his rejection of the concept of social justice are criticized. A principle for deciding how basic goods should be distributed is established. The views of Rawls are examined and it is shown that although he correctly sees that the results of natural lotteries are irrelevante to questions of justice he fails to draw the correct conclusions from this insight. Other aspects of Rawis’ views are critically examined.