2,959 research outputs found
Global equality of resources and the problem of valuation
The principle that every individual on the planet has a claim to an equal share of Earthâs natural resources has an intuitive attraction. Yet the Principle of Natural Resource Equality is not without its problems. This article focuses on the problem of valuation. Unless and until its adherents are able to develop an adequate theoretical mechanism for determining the comparative value of two or more bundles of natural resources the principle lacks applicability and persuasive force. Three adequacy constraints on such a mechanism are presented and then applied to a theorisation of the Principle of Natural Resource Equality that I have already expounded elsewhere: Global Equality of Resources. In each case I try to argue that Global Equality of Resources could satisfy the adequacy constraint, provided that both this theory and the relevant constraint are properly understood
Law, Liberty and the Rule of Law (in a Constitutional Democracy)
In the hunt for a better--and more substantial--awareness of the âlaw,â The author intends to analyze the different notions related to the ârule of lawâ and to criticize the conceptions that equate it either to the sum of âlawâ and âruleâ or to the formal assertion that âlaw rules,â regardless of its relationship to certain principles, including both ânegativeâ and âpositiveâ liberties. Instead, he pretends to scrutinize the principles of the ârule of law,â in general, and in a âconstitutional democracy,â in particular, to conclude that the tendency to reduce the âdemocratic principleâ to the âmajority ruleâ (or âmajority principleâ), i.e. to whatever pleases the majority, as part of the âpositive liberty,â is contrary both to the ânegative libertyâ and to the ârule of lawâ itself
Broadcasting graphic war violence: the moral face of Channel 4
Drawing on empirical data from Channel 4 (C4) regarding the broadcasting of violent war imagery, and positioned within Goffmanâs notion of the interaction ritual (1959, 1967), this article investigates how C4 negotiate potentially competing commercial, regulatory and moral requirements through processes of discretionary decision-making. Throughout, the article considers the extent to which these negotiations are presented through a series of âimaginingsâ â of C4 and its audience â which serve to simultaneously guide and legitimate the decisions made. This manifestation of imaginings moves us beyond more blanket explanations of âbrandingâ and instead allows us to see the final programmes as the end product of a series of complex negotiations and interactions between C4 and those multiple external parties significant to the workings of their organization. The insights gleaned from this case study are important beyond the workings of C4 because they help elucidate how all institutions and organizations may view, organize and justify their practices (to both themselves and others) within the perceived constraints in which they operate
Individual Rights, Economic Transactions, and Recognition: A Legal Approach to Social Economics
Modernity brought the idea of individual property rights as a com- plex phenomenon. However, economics adopted a simplistic view of property as a fundamental institution, understating the complex interaction of different rights and obligations that frame the legal environment of economic processes with an insufficiently elaborated tool. Here, a more elaborate view of legal elements will be propose
Theorising Disability: Beyond Common Sense
This article seeks to introduce the topic of disability to political theory via a discussion of some of the literature produced by disability theorists. The author argues that these more radical approaches conceptualise disability in ways that conflict with âcommon-senseâ notions of disability that tend to underpin political theoretical considerations of the topic. Furthermore, the author suggests that these more radical conceptualisations have profound implications for current debates on social justice, equality and citizenship that highlight the extent to which these notions are also currently underpinned by âcommon-senseâ notions of ânormalityâ
Global citizenship as the completion of cosmopolitanism
A conception of global citizenship should not be viewed as separate from, or synonymous with, the cosmopolitan moral orientation, but as a primary component of it. Global citizenship is fundamentally concerned with individual
moral requirements in the global frame. Such requirements, framed here as belonging to the category of individual cosmopolitanism, offer guidelines on right action in the context of global human community. They are complementary
to the principles of moral cosmopolitanism â those to be used in assessing the justice of global institutions and practices â that have been emphasised by cosmopolitan political theorists. Considering principles of individual and moral cosmopolitanism together can help to provide greater clarity concerning individual duties in the absence of fully global institutions, as well as clarity on individual obligations of justice in relation to emerging and still-developing trans-state institutions
Racism and hate speech â A critique of Scanlonâs Contractual Theory
The First Amendment is an important value in American liberal polity. Under this value, racism, hate speech and offensive speech are protected speech. This article scrutinizes one of the clear representatives of the American liberal polity - Thomas Scanlon. The paper tracks the developments in his theory over the years. It is argued that Scanlonâs arguments downplay tangible harm that speech might inflict on its target victim audience. Scanlonâs distinction between participant interests, audience interests, and the interests of bystanders is put under close scrutiny. The article criticizes viewpoint neutrality and suggests a balancing approach, further arguing that democracy is required to develop protective mechanisms against harm-facilitating speech as well as profound offences. Both should be taken most seriously
Intergenerational justice of what: welfare, resources or capabilities?
An important aspect of intergenerational justice concerns the specification of a 'currency of advantage' that can be used to evaluate distributive outcomes across time. Environmental theorists have introduced several innovative currencies of justice in recent years, such as ecological space and critical natural capital. However they have often downplayed the application of established currencies (such as welfare, resources or capabilities) to issues of futurity. After exploring the merits of a number of rival currencies, it is argued that the currency of 'capabilities to function' provides a promising basis for a theory of justice that takes seriously the rights and duties of intergenerational justice
Recurrence in 2D Inviscid Channel Flow
I will prove a recurrence theorem which says that any () solution
to the 2D inviscid channel flow returns repeatedly to an arbitrarily small
neighborhood. Periodic boundary condition is imposed along the
stream-wise direction. The result is an extension of an early result of the
author [Li, 09] on 2D Euler equation under periodic boundary conditions along
both directions
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