Introduction
Selecting Principles of Justice. Different principles of distributive justice are proposed by different philosophers. Does that mean that we may choose any one of them with equal justification? A "yes" answer to this question would make disputes about fairness impossible to settle. To avoid this, we must find some non-arbitary method of selecting among proposed principles of justice.
The Uses of Tradition.One method for resolving this issue might be to follow the traditions of various practices that have grown up over time. For example, the practice of grading students for their performance in academic courses now includes a merit principle for determining most grades: the grade a student receives should reflect the quantity and quality of her work. It might be said in defense of such traditions that they have survived because they have proven more satisfactory to the parties affected, considered collectively, than other conceivable alternatives, such as giving everyone the same grade or handing out grades in accordance with the student's ability to pay. To argue this way would be to reinforce the argument from tradition ("we've done it that way for a long time") by a kind of Utilitarian argument ("let's optimize society's satisfaction").
The Problem of Radically Unjust Traditions. But traditions can be oppressive and unjust. Activities that take place within unjust social systems can themselves be unjust, in spite of their traditional nature. Thus a practice of giving a person that which is "his" can be unjust. Suppose this rule is included within a system of slave property, the "property" in question is a slave, and the practice would require someone meeting an escaped slave to return the slave to his or her master. The fact that the ...