Reflection #7: Distributive justice

     As we talked about in class, distributive justice, remains to be an abstract term. In definition, according to an online dictionary, is distributing rewards and punishments to everyone according to his merits or demerits. The United States has this type of system, or at least thats what it says it has. We supposedly live in a society where people are punished for their negative actions or rewarded for their positive ones. It is difficult to say in a time like this. What are we doing to those companies that gave out loans and money to everyone without thinking it through. Now, taxpayers will have to suffer their mistakes and ignorant moves. The government is just going to pardon those companies that gave out all that money and just take out money from the federal reserve to make it all better? That doesn’t sound like distributive justice to me. Our country lives by the crede of economic growth. but that economic growth that everyone wants is now bringing more poverty to more people. It is said that it will cost the average american $4000 to pay off the 700 billion that will be given out. I didn’t do anything wrong for the government to take $4000 of my hard earned money to help out ignorant companies. I understand helping out your fellow man, but this is just too much.

     We also talked about utilitarianism, a philisophical term, which basically means “the greatest good for the greatest number”. I do not think that we as a society cannot live in a utilitarianismsociety because everyone has differnent wants and needs. We are very diverse and what might be good for someone might not be for someone else. It would be too difficult to even try to incorporate such a system. This economical decline just goes to show that utilitarianism cannot live here.