John Rawls Principles of Justice & Nozick's View of Libertarianism

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Please see attached file for proper quoting.

1. Contrast the John Rawls' Two principles of justice.

According to Rawls (1971) the two principles of justice are:

1) "Each person is to have equal right to the most extensive basic liberty compatible with a similar liberty for others" (p. 60)

2) "Social and economic inequalities are arranged so that they are to be the greatest benefit to the least-advantaged members of society (difference principle) and offices and positions must be open to under conditions of fair equality of opportunity" (p. 303).

The first principle addresses citizen liberties such as freedom of speech, rights to vote, freedom to assemble, the right to run for office or positions, the right to opportunities, the ability to have personal property, and rights from arbitrary arrest. The principle looks to give equal chance to people who have ability regardless of their social-economic background, ethnical differences, or gender.

The second principle looks at equality and the difference principle which serves to regulate inequalities by permitting those which work to the advantage of the people who are in the worst situation. By addressing the requirements of the needy in society, there is a compensation for inequalities which naturally occur. Fair quality of opportunity looks to reward on the basis of merit and people should have a reasonable opportunity to learn skills for the assessment of merit.

Rawls, J. (1971). A Theory of Justice (Harvard University Press, Cambridge MA)

2. Elaborate the ethical issues involved in advertising such as means of persuasion and deceptive advertising.

Ethics are basically moral principles and values which are set to oversee actions and decisions of individuals or groups. Ethics serve as a guiding principle on how to proceed when faced with moral issues. Laws provide a framework for businesses to adhere to society standards and give consumers and employees recourse in a court of law.

Marketing looks at issues of legality and ethicality within a decision-making process. In order to classify marketing decisions an action is categorized as A) ethical and illegal, B) ethical and legal, C) unethical and illegal, D) unethical but legal.

There are conflicting responsibilities in advertising: 1) the company needs to maximize profits for shareholders, 2) address responsibilities to customers, employees, suppliers, etc, and 3) conform to environment and public welfare responsibilities.

Codes of ethics are a company's statement of ethical principles and rules of how to conduct business and many companies have ethics divisions, compliance officers, and manuals of operation. Corporate culture is infused within the company by ethical actions of management and employees through the company's values, beliefs, and purpose.

According to Moore (2004):

Ads for reputable companies almost never lie. They have to be able to prove what they say to their own corporate counsel, the ad agency's lawyers, the network's approval committees and to any ...