Course 9 of 18

Justice Now

Apply ethics to society: fairness, liberty, and obligation.

What this course covers

Justice Now works through apply ethics to society: fairness, liberty, and obligation. across 3 lessons. Each opens with a short teaching passage, then tests whether the idea actually landed — and explains every answer rather than just marking it.

The lessons are sequenced, not a menu. Designing a Fair Society comes first because rawls, Nozick, and the shape of justice is what the rest of the course assumes; by the end you reach What We Owe Each Other.

How it starts

John Rawls asked: what rules would you choose for society if you didn't know who you'd be in it: rich or poor, healthy or sick? From behind this 'veil of ignorance' in the 'original position,' he argued we'd pick principles that protect the worst-off. Robert Nozick pushed back, arguing that justice is about how holdings are acquired and transferred, not about engineering a fair distribution.

Each person possesses an inviolability founded on justice that even the welfare of society as a whole cannot override.
John Rawls

The 3 lessons

  1. 1. Designing a Fair SocietyRawls, Nozick, and the shape of justice
  2. 2. Liberty and Its LimitsBerlin, Arendt, and freedom's two faces
  3. 3. What We Owe Each OtherSinger, Sen, Nussbaum, and Sandel