PrepTest 101, Section 3, Question 24
Ethicist: A society is just when, and only(39 more words not shown)
Which one of the following(9 more words not shown)
- ASociety S guarantees(43 more words not shown)
- BSociety S gives(27 more words not shown)
- CSociety S allows(28 more words not shown)
- DSociety S distributes(25 more words not shown)
- ESociety S gives(37 more words not shown)
Reading the argument
Equal rights don't mean everyone has to earn the same amount. The ethicist gives us two separate requirements, and we need to keep both in view.
First, everyone must have an equal right to basic liberties. Second, if the society allows differences in income or wealth, those differences must benefit everyone and be attached to jobs open to everyone. A society could allow someone to earn more without failing the rule. Perhaps higher pay encourages people to do demanding work that benefits everybody. But that possibility wouldn't excuse barring some people from the jobs or denying them equal basic liberties.
What we’re looking for
When we judge the choices, don't just count good features. To call a society just under this principle, we need all the required pieces. To call it unjust, one violated requirement is enough. A choice that simply leaves a requirement unmentioned hasn't shown whether it's met or violated. We need to distinguish an actual failure from missing information.
Working the answers
- A
Equal basic liberties and a benefit to everyone satisfy two parts of the rule. But the jobs must also be open to everyone. Saying they are open to most people doesn't establish that. Some people could be barred even though the arrangement benefits them. A hasn't given us enough to declare this society just.
- B
Unequal income and wealth are allowed under certain conditions. This choice doesn't tell us whether the differences benefit everyone or whether the relevant jobs are open to everyone. They might meet both conditions. The mere existence of inequalities therefore doesn't establish that the society is unjust.
- C
The inequalities satisfy the benefit and job-access requirements, but what about basic liberties? Everyone could benefit financially while some people lacked the equal rights the ethicist demands. C supplies the second part of the definition and leaves the first unaddressed. That is not enough to establish that the society is just.
- DCorrect
People have equal income and wealth, but unequal rights to basic liberties. That directly violates the first requirement. Equal money can't compensate for a failure of equal basic rights under this principle. We know a required condition is missing, so we can conclude that the society is not just.
- E
Everyone has equal basic liberties, and the jobs are open to all. But do the income and wealth differences benefit everyone? Access to a job doesn't by itself establish that the resulting inequalities help every person. E leaves that benefit requirement unanswered, so it cannot justify its conclusion that the society is just.
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