Key Terms
Social justice
The equitable distribution of opportunities, resources, and rights. That's the common thread.
African and communitarian perspectives
The community takes priority over the individual; justice includes rights of cultural communities, not just individuals.
Islamic perspectives
Western theories fail because they don't identify a moral source. Justice comes from divine guidance, not human calculat
Feminist critiques
Hobbes and Locke justified male dominance. Rawls, taken seriously, would require dismantling gender inequalities — but h
Gandhi
Duties alongside rights; nonviolent revolution; minimalist government; social and economic freedom are inseparable from
HOBBES
Without government, life is "solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short." Government's job is to lift us out of the state
LOCKE
More optimistic about human nature. People have natural liberty.
HUME
Government's primary purpose is to provide PUBLIC GOODS — resources that benefit everyone, can't be withheld from anyone
SOCIAL CONTRACT defined
Not an actual document. A metaphorical agreement where people give up certain freedoms in exchange for protection and pu
DIRECT DEMOCRACY
All citizens vote on every decision. No country does this today — impractical at scale; philosophical concerns about whe
REPRESENTATIVE DEMOCRACY
Citizens elect representatives who make decisions on their behalf. Most democracies work this way.
Purpose in practice
Governments are written and run by humans with self-interests. History shows leaders often expand power under the guise
THINKING FAST
Intuitive, automatic, doesn't feel like thinking. Snap judgments.
THINKING SLOW
Deliberate, requires cognitive energy and focus. Harder; humans avoid it when possible.
HEURISTIC
A cognitive shortcut. Instead of researching every candidate, a voter picks the one from their party.