Theories of Justice Applied to the Pandemic: The Case of Vaccine Distribution

The problem of the distribution (in a broad sense) of the coronavirus vaccines – concerning the criterion by which the beneficiaries of the vaccine are selected – constitute a particular case of the general problem of the distribution of social goods. For this reason, it is necessary to discuss whether the selection criterion to be adopted is that of commutative justice or that of distributive justice and, consequently, whether the approach to the problem must follow an individualist perspective or a collectivist perspective, such as it happens regarding the general problem of the distribution of social goods. Therefore, problem of the distribution of the coronavirus vaccines is still a problem of social justice. In this essay, I will rehearse an application of each of these criteria to the problem at hand.

The Edifying Discourses of Adam Smith: Focalism, Commerce, and Serving the Common Good

Smith’s discourses aim to encourage mores, practices, and public policies in service to the common good, or that which a universally benevolent spectator would approve of. The Wealth of Nations illustrates how in pursuing our own happiness within the bounds of prudence and commutative justice we may be said, literally or metaphorically, to cooperate with God in furthering the happiness of humankind. The Theory of Moral Sentiments elaborates an ethic, here called “focalism,” that instructs us to proportion our beneficent efforts to our knowledge and ability. The relationship between political economy and focalism is bidirectionally reinforcing. In one direction, the ethic of focalism contributes to the moral authorization of self-love, thereby invigorating and dignifying honest commercial activities. In the other direction, the insights of political economy reinforce the ethic of focalism by elaborating how through prudent commerce and focal beneficence we cooperate, even if only metaphorically, in a grand social enterprise.

Culpa Levissima and the Eclipse of Strict Liability

In Roman law, as interpreted by the medieval jurists, in a gratuitous loan (commodatum), the borrower was liable for culpa levissima, failure to use be as diligent as “most diligent” (diligentissimus). It would seem, then, that a person could be liable for conduct that he could not help. That consequence troubled the medieval canonists a person would then be liable who had not sinned. It troubled the late scholastics because a person would then be liable for an accident, which was not a violation of commutative justice. Some concluded that liability for culpa levissima was a creature of positive law, based on pragmatic considerations but with no grounding in principle. There was another explanation glimpsed by the late scholastics and by Hugo Grotius: commutative justice requires that one who borrows gratuitously indemnify the lender against any loss. Unfortunately, in the following centuries, that explanation was lost from sight.

A NEW ROLE OF CAUSATION THEORY TOWARDS ACHIEVING ECONOMIC CONTRACTUAL EQUILIBRIUM: ANNULLING THE ARBITRARY CONTRACTUAL CONDITIONS

The phrase “who says contractual, says justice” (qui dit contractuel dit juste) does not fully express the truth of present reality, where the phrase itself falls into doubt, since a contract does not always result in fair obligations. In this regard, the French judiciary realized that the absence of justice in a contract might arise as a result of the contractual freedom afforded to the contracting parties. Thus, the idea of Commutative Justice in the contract was developed, such as, the Chronopost’s decision which is considered one of its most important applications. However, the equivalence of rights and obligations in the Palestinian Draft Civil Code only exists in a virtual form, without any content that actually contributes to the achievement of the equivalence between rights and obligations in contracts. This article seeks to prove that the provisions of the causation theory in the Palestinian Draft Civil Code can be used as an effective means for achieving contractual justice between the contracting parties, in order to maintain economic contractual equilibrium of the contract. To do so, the function of the causation theory should be analysed in a comparative analytical approach with the Chronopost’s decision to illustrate the Palestinian legislative deficiencies. It will also show the need for adopting the French judicial approach, which will establish a general rule that any arbitrary clause that contravenes the essential obligation of the contract is considered to be unwritten, regardless of the nature or the subject matter of the contract.

A Just Wage: Social Justice in the Labor Market

The author deals with a question of the just wage, its rationale and practical implementation from the perspective of classical philosophy and Catholic social teaching. In the methodological section, the author argues that because moral and political philosophy stands higher than economics in the hierarchy of sciences, the wage-justice perspective should take precedence over the just-wage perspective. In the section on education, the author calls for a real inter-disciplinarity in education which would eliminate the arrogance of a one-discipline approach and establish a relevant-discipline approach. This paper wants to be an example of such a relevant-discipline approach. The author contends that the term “just wage” can be perceived in two meanings: 1) in the meaning of legal or social justice as a family wage; 2) in the meaning of commutative justice as a value of the employee’s performance which contributes to the production of the total physical product. Where the value of the labor performance cannot be estimated lower than the cost of authentically human living. This paper provides micro- and macroeconomic reasons for the conclusion that the legal minimum wage is not an effective instrument to make an employer pay a just wage and presents the conclusion that the only way to make the employer pay a just wage is a creation of such an institutional environment in which the owners and managers will want to pay just wages on their own, at the expense of their own profit. The author contends that a distributist vision of “restoration of property could provide a functional solution to this. The reason why popes before and during the industrial revolution didn’t criticize low incomes of peasants is, according to the author, that the family life and working life were not separated in the institutional environment of the countryside economy which is why the incomes of the peasants allowed the man to fulfill his obligations in relation to his family.

KONSEP KEADILAN DALAM ZAKAT PERTANIAN DAN ZAKAT PROFESI

One of the economic activities that is highly recommended by Islam is zakat. Al-Qur'an and hadith explain a lot about zakat, where zakat is very important and it is recommended to clean up wealth. In addition, the wealth spent on zakat will be a blessing, growth, increase and develop. The concept of fairness in collecting zakat includes several things, namely using the principle of justice in distribution. the assets issued fulfill the terms and conditions and then the zakat is given to groups which are entitled to receive. This study aims to determine how the concept of justice in agricultural zakat and professional zakat, where this research uses a library approach and uses data collection methods and data processing validly. Justice in agricultural zakat and professional zakat is justice based on two principles of justice (commutative justice and distributive justice). Agricultural Zakat is zakat of agricultural products such as cloves, cocoa, coffee, vegetables and can be stored for a long time removed from the harvest and has reached nishab which is 5% if the crop is irrigated with irrigation equipment and if the crop is irrigated with rainfed then the zakat is 10 % and does not have to pay zakat if it does not reach nishab. While professional zakat is zakat resulting from the thoughts, skills and expertise of a person obtained through higher education levels such as (advocates, lawyers, doctors, engineers, etc.) and has reached 2.5% of nishab, the proportion of which is equal to gold zakat and has also been equal reach haul. If the income does not reach nishab, it is not obligatory for it to pay zakat