Justice and Fairness in Business

Course Teacher:
Professor Md. Zakir Hossain
Telephone/Mobile: 01712909421
E-mail: zakir.hossain02@northsouth.edu

LECTURE- 8
 Justice and Fairness
• Social Justice means the fair treatment and
equitable status of all individuals and social
groups within a state or society.
• The terms justice and fairness are used almost
interchangeable.
• Ancient philosopher Plato in his work The
Republic first introduce the concept of justice.
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QojPDlE
WL9Y
 Justice and Fairness
• Distributive Justice: is concerned with the fair
distribution of society’s benefits and burdens.

• Retributive Justice: refers to the just

imposition of punishment and penalties on
those who do wrong.

• Compensatory Justice: concerns the just way

of compensating people for what they lost.
Justice as Fairness of John Rawls.
His theory discussed about the policies of how
society’s benefits and burden should be
distributed to form liberal equal society.

It concerns on political and economic equality,

a minimum standard of living, needs, ability,
efforts and freedom.
 Justice as Fairness of John Rawls.
• Rawls proposes two basic principles to use a
fair method of choosing principles to resolve
our social conflicts. According to his principles,
the distribution of a society is just if and only
if:
1. Each person has an equal right to the most
extensive basic liberties compatible with
similar liberties for all.
 Justice as Fairness of John Rawls.
2. Social and economic inequalities are arranged
so that they are both-
a) To the greatest benefit of the least
advantaged persons.
b) Attach to offices and positions open to all
under conditions of fair equality of
opportunity.
 Justice as Fairness of John Rawls.
• Rawls tells us that principle 1 is supposed to take
priority over principle 2 if two of them ever come
to conflict. Within principle 2 part b is supposed
to take priority over part a.

• Principle 1 is called the principle of equal liberty.

• Part a of principle 2 is called the difference
principle and part b is called fair equality of
opportunity.
 Rational of Rawls’ Principle
• Man’s fate is not depends on his birth
circumstance.
• Man’s fate is depends on his choice and
efforts.
 How is His Theory Established in
Society?
• Social Contract Theory
• Vail of Ignorance in Original Position
 Application of Rawls’ Theory

An action is right according to John Rawls’

theory if it concerns about other rights and
maintain fair distribution policy.