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Doing the right thing - What do we owe one another? / Dilemmas of loyatly

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The moral individualist: to be free is to be subject only to obligations I voluntary incur (maak); whatever I owe others, I owe by virtue of some act of consent, a choice/promise/agreement I've made. What is 'wrong' with this vision of freedom?

It leaves little room for collective responsibility, or for a duty to bear the moral burden of historic injustices perpetrated by our predecessors (begaan door onze voorgangers). If the moral individualist vision of freedom is right, then the critics of official apologies have a point; we bear no moral burden for the wrongs of our predecessors. 

Kant and Rawls reject Aristotle's teleology, why?

Because it doesn't seem to leave us room to choose our good for ourselves. Aristotle sees justice as a matter of fit between persons and the end of goods appropriate to their nature. According to Kant and Rawls, justice is a matter or choice, not fit. We are defined by our capacity of choice, not by our ends.

The idea of choice is a characteristic of modern liberal political thought. Liberal does not mean the opposite of conservative. Liberal aspects can be found across the whole political spectrum. Explain (2)

1 Egalitarian liberals: favor civil liberties and basic social and economic rights (health care, education etc.). Enabling individuals to pursue their own ends, requires the government to ensure the materials conditions of truly free choice. It's all about individual freedom. 
2 Libertarians (sometimes called conservatives): disagree with egalitarian liberals about what policies these ideals require. They are laissez-faire critics of the welfare state defending free markets and no progressive tax. The welfare state doesn't enable individuals to choose their own ends, but coerces of the good of others.
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What's Sandels opinion regarding the 2 visions of freedom?

Both vision are flawed. If we understand ourselves as free and independent, we can't make sense of a range of moral and political obligations that we commonly recognize/prize. This is a communitarian view. 

What is meant with communitarian, obligations of solidarity/membership?

Sort of relativism: a doctrine that knowledge, truth and morality exist in relation to culture, society, or historic context, and are not absolute. People have moral/political obligations that have nothing to do with freedom, f.e.: solidarity, loyalty, historic memory, religious faith.

Name the 3 categories of moral responsibility (nvs):

1 Natural duties: we owe to human beings, universal (don't require consent). F.e. The duty to treat persons with respect, to do justice, avoid cruelty.
2 Voluntary obligations: duties we incur by consent, particular (require consent). F.e. I paint your house in exchange for money.
3 Obligations of solidarity/membership: particular (don't require consent). It are moral responsibilities we owe to those with whom we share certain history, f.e. family obligations.

What are the 'communitarian critics of contemporary liberalism?

These critics rejected the claim for the priority of the right over the good and argued that we can't reason about justice by abstracting from our aims and attachments.

The question on the page originate from the summary of the following study material:

Justice : what's the right thing to do? | 9780141041339 | Michael J Sandel

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