Students must practice these AP Inter 1st Year Civics Important Questions 7th Lesson Justice to boost their exam preparation.
AP Inter 1st Year Civics Important Questions 7th Lesson Justice
Long Answer Questions
Question 1.
Define Justice and describe various types of justice.
Answer:
Definitions: Justice may be defined as follows:
- Plato defines “Justice is giving to every man his due. It is a combination of reason, courage, appetite and will in terms of the state”.
- Aristotle defines “Justice is no other than each and every individual in society discharging his moral duties”.
- Barker defines “Justice means a combination and co-ordination of political values”.
Types of Justice:
The types of Justice may be explained as follows:
1. Natural Justice:
Natural Justice is based on the notion that every person in the world possesses some rights for availing the natural resources. Natural resources provide support to the life of each and every creature oh earth. As the human beings are the only rational creatures, it is their responsibility to see that natural resources have to be judiciously exploited. Human beings must keep in mind the requirements of future generations in this regard.
2. Social Justice:
It means the total eradication of untouchability and ill-treatment on the basis of the social status. Social justice aims at the absence of discrimination between man and man on the basic of caste, colour, creed, sex, etc. It also aims at equality before law. No privileges are allowed to any section of the people if they are caused to inequality. .
3. Political Justice:
It refers to the enjoyment of equal political rights, equal access to all political offices and equal voice in the government. It can be realised only in a democracy, so political justice means political equality and equal participation of all the people in political affairs of the state.
4. Economic Justice:
It means the establishment of equalitarian society, where, all the people possess equal opportunities in their economic matters. Economic justice is very important and pre-requisite because, Political justice and Social justice without Economic justice are meaningless.
5. Legal Justice:
It means equality before law. All the citizens must be treated equally before law and all those who were proved guilty should be equally punished. There should not be any discrimination either in trial or in awarding punishment.
Question 2.
What is meant by Justice? How is it developed?
Answer:
Meaning: The word ‘Justice’ is derived from a Latin word ‘Jus’ which means ‘to bind’. It refers to the formulation and implementation of rules and regulations endorsed by the Constitution and the judicial organisations. It also stands for just conduct, fairness or exercise of state authority in the maintenance of individual rights.
Development of Justice:
Justice normally means giving each person his due. However, its understanding differs from person to a person. Justice is viewed from the human aspect of every individual. Immanuel Kant, a German philosopher, stated that human beings possess dignity. When all persons are endowed with dignity, they will be entitled to adequate opportunities for developing their talents and for pursuing their goals. Thus, Justice demands that each individual should be given equal consideration.
In Medieval age St. Augustine derived the concept of Justice from Plato. He emphasized on the proper relations between individuals for the harmonious working of society. Thomas Aquinas was considered as the first political philosopher who separated Justice from religion. By 16th century, the concept of Justice got completely secularized. The social contractualists like Hobbes identified Justice with the orders of the sovereign. His successors John Locke, Rousseau, Emmanuel Kant and others regarded Justice as a synthesis of liberty and equality. The advocates of Natural law developed the idea of individual justice. The Socialists conceived Justice from economic point of view. While the conventionalists explained the concept of Justice from individual perspective, the modernists viewed it from social perspective.
There is no single precise definition to’ the concept of Justice. It was defined and discussed by various writers in different ways basing on the place, time context, culture, etc. It is considered as the sum total of the principles and beliefs advanced for the survived of the society. These principles and beliefs in turn led to the making of rights, freedoms and laws.
Question 3.
Write ah essay on Social Justice.
Answer:
Social Justice is generally equated with the notion of equality. Equality is an indisputable and inherent element of social justice. The term ‘social justice’ has wider meaning. ‘Social justice’ connotes fairness, mutual obligation and responsibility in a society. It firmly believes that everyone is responsible to the others. Everyone must be provided adequate opportunities. Social Justice, in brief, aims at achieving a just society by eliminating injustice. It prevails when people have the belief of sharing the things in the society. They must be entitled to equitable treatment, human rights and fair allocation of common resources.
In this context modern political scientists like John Rawls and David Miller gave two prominent statements.
John Rawls advanced the theory of social justice commonly known as “Justice or Fairness”. To him, social justice implies equal access to the liberties, rights and opportunities as well as taking care of the interests of the deprived and disadvantaged sections of the society. He maintained that what is just or unjust in the human activities is determined on the basis of utility of such activities. He stated that social justice enables human beings equal access to civil liberties and human rights to lead a happy and healthy life. He emphasised that disadvantaged groups in society will be taken care of through the extension of social justice.
John Rawls concept of social justice is built around the idea of a social contract whereby all people sign a covenant for following and obeying certain rules for the betterment of the society as a whole. These rules or principles specify the basic rights and obligations involving the main political and social institutions. They regulate the allocation of benefits arising from social co-operation.
David Miller pointed out that social justice is concerned with the distribution of good (advantages) and bad (disadvantages) in society. He further analysed more specifically how these things are distributed in the society. According to him, social justice is concerned with the allocation of resources among people by social and political institutions.
Short Answer Questions
Question 1.
Explain the major concepts of Justice.
Answer:
There are two major concepts of Justice. They are i) Numerical concept ii) Geometrical concept. They may be explained as follows:
i) Numerical concept:
Numerical concept of justice regards that everyone has equal share. The ancient Greek city states adopted this concept in public matters. The rulers of these city states filled up various offices with as many persons as maximum possible to demonstrate equality. They have not considered special knowledge, qualifications, etc. for holding public offices. Jeremy Bentham, a famous British political philosopher, advocated this concept in modern times. He stated thus : “Everyone is to count for one, nobody for more than one.” Many modern liberal democratic states have been functioning on the basis of this concept.
ii) Geometrical concept:
Geometrical concept is based on the notion of proportionate equality. It advocates equal share to equals and unequal share to unequals. It means that the distribution of power and patronage in public offices should be allocated in proportion to the worth or contribution of the individuals. Plato and Aristotle favoured this concept. Aristotle stated this concept in the following words : “If flutes are to be distributed, they should be distributed only among those who have the capacity of flute playing.” Efforts were made for allocating of benefits and responsibilities on equal basis keeping in view the worth of the recipients.
Question 2.
How is Justice developed?
Answer:
Justice normally means giving each person his due. However, its understanding differs from person a person. Justice is viewed from the human aspect of every individual. Immanuel Kant, a German philosopher, stated that human beings possess dignity. When all persons ‘are endowed with dignity, they will be entitled to adequate opportunities for developing their talents and for pursuing their goals. Thus, justice demands that each individual should be given equal consideration.
The social contractualists like Hobbes identified Justice with the orders of the sovereign. His successors John Locke, Rousseau, Emmanuel Kant and others regarded Justice as a synthesis of liberty and equality. The advocates of Natural law developed the idea of individual justice. The Socialists conceived justice from economic point of view. While the conventionalists explained the concept of Justice from individual perspective, the modernists viewed it from social perspective.
Question 3.
Describe any three types of Justice. [Sep. 2021, Mar. ’19,’16: May ’17: Mar. ’15 – T.S]
Answer:
The concept of Justice is divided into five kinds. Those are
- Natural Justice,
- Social Justice,
- Political Justice,
- Economic Justice,
- Legal Justice.
Three of them are explained below.
1. Social Justice:
It means the total eradication of untouchability and ill-treatment on the basis of the social status. Social justice aims at the absence of discrimination between man and man on the basic of caste, colour, creed, sex, etc. It also aims at equality before law. No privileges are allowed to any section of the people if they are caused to inequality. –
2. Political Justice:
It refers to the enjoyment of equal political rights, equal access to all political offices and equal voice in the government. It can be realised in only in a democracy, so political justice means political equality and equal participation of all the people in political affairs of the state.
3. Legal Justice:
It means equality before law. All the citizens must be treated equally before law and all those who were proved guilty should be equally punished. There should not be any discrimination either in trial or in awarding punishment.
Question 4.
Point out any three sources of Justice. [May. 2022, Mar. 2018; Mar.’17; May ’16; Mar. ’15 – A.P]
Answer:
The sources of Justice may be explained as follows.
i) Nature:
The Greek stoics perceived nature to be a source of Justice. Their perception of nature was a combination of moral philosophy and religious beliefs. For them nature, God and reason were inseparable entities. They pointed out that men who lived according to nature shared similar views of reason and God.
ii) Ethics:
Idealist thinkers like Plato, Emanuel Kant, Thomas Hilly Green, Earnest Barker and others propounded that justice originated from ethical practices. They pointed out that values accepted by the society over a period of time have in turn become the impersonal source of positive justice. The state enforced this positive justice in course of time.
iii) Religion:
Religion is regarded as another source of Justice. This source has been in force since medieval age. The church authorities held the notion that it was God who propounded the notions of justice, right and wrong. God, through church, initiated the concept of justice as the rule of the theory of might. Thomas Acquinas, a philosopher turned saint believed that the Church is the manifestation of religion. According to him, life based on laws is the best one. The king must lead the people in right directions. He must exercise his authority in compliance to the church authority.
Question 5.
How is Social Justice pursued? [March. 2020]
Answer:
Social Justice remains a mirage in a society having glaring disparities between different sections. Justice can’t be understood in absolute terms. Justice along with equality is a strong desire of every one in modern society. A society dominated by unjust relations between different sections cannot achieve progress. In such a society the disadvantaged and deprived sections develop frustration in their day to day life. This leads to mutual conflicts between the majority poor and a few affluent persons. Hence, a just society which ensures basic minimum facilities to all to lead happy and secure life is a must. In such a society adequate opportunities will be provided to various sections for realizing their goals.
Though many agree with the view that the state should lend a helping hand to the disadvantaged sections of the society to attain some degree of parity with others, there remains a disagreement over the methods pursued for achieving the goal. Extensive debate has taken place in the contemporary society. Such a debate revolved on the topic of inviting open competition through Free State Organisation or private enterprises. But the fact lies in between the two. Both state and private involvement are necessary for achieving social justice in a State.
Very Short Answer Questions
Question 1.
Define Justice. [May. 2022; Sep. 2021; Mar. ’20, ’19, ’17- A.P; May ’17, ’16; Mar.’16; Mar. 2015-T.S & A.P]
Answer:
- Plato defines “Justice is giving to every man his due. It is a combination of reason, courage, appetite and will in terms of the state”.
- Barker defines “Justice means a combination and co-ordination of political values”.
Question 2.
What is Distributive Justice?
Answer:
Distributive Justice implies the distribution of goods and wealth of citizens by the state on merit basis. Aristotle stated that, Justice is a sort of proportion. He regarded it as the most powerful instrument against revolution.
Question 3.
What is Corrective Justice?
Answer:
Corrective Justice comprises restoring each person the lost right due to the infringement of his rights by others. Aristotle viewed this Justice as essentially negative which is concerned with voluntary commercial transactions like hire, sale and furnishing of property. In brief, Corrective Justice embodies moral excellence of individuals.
Question 4.
How are economic elements considered as a source of Justice?
Answer:
Economic elements are considered to be one of the important sources of Justice. These elements attained significance with the advent of industrial revolution which led to the vast economic disparities between different sections of the people. Revolutionary political thinkers like Karl Marx and Frederich Engles strongly advocated the role of economic elements as a basis to the Justice.
Question 5.
What do you mean by Political Justice? (OR) What is meant by Political Justice?
Answer:
Political Justice refers to the enjoyment of equal political rights, equal access to all political offices and equal voice in the government. It can be realised only in a democracy. So political justice means political equality and equal participation of all the people in political affairs of the State.
Question 6.
What do you know about Social Justice?
Answer:
Social Justice means the total eradication of untouchability and ill-treatment on the basis of the social status. Social Justice aims at the absence of discrimination between man and man on the basis of caste, colour, creed, sex, etc. It also aims at equality before law. No privileges are allowed to any section of the people if they are caused to inequality.
Question 7.
What are the implications of Legal Justice?
Answer:
Legal Justice is manifested in the laws of the state. It is supported by customs and traditions of the society. Legal justice has two implications, i) It implies that there is just application of the laws in the society on the basis of rule of law. ii) Laws are made in accordance with the principle of natural justice.
Question 8.
What are the views of John Rawls on Social Justice?
Answer:
John Rawls admitted that Social Justice implies equal access to the liberties, rights and opportunities as well as taking care of the interests of the deprived sections of the society. He stated that the concept of Social Justice is built around the idea of a social contract committed by the people for obeying certain rules for betterment of the society as a whole.
Question 9.
What are the views of advocates of free market mechanism?
Answer:
Advocates of free markets admitted that individuals should be allowed to have complete economic freedoms like freedom of property, contracts in economic matters. They professed free competition between various factors of production in the eonomy.
Question 10.
In what respect is religion considered as a source of Justice?
Answer:
Religion is regarded as another source of Justice. This source has been in force since medieval age. The Church authorities held the notion that it was God who profounded the notions of justice, right and wrong. God, through Church, initiated the concept of Justice as the rule of the theory of might.