The individual rationality of maintaining a sense of justice

Let us say that an individual possesses aprincipled preference if she prefers satisfying her preferences without violating the principles of justice governing her community to satisfying her preferences by violating these principles. Although living among possessors of principled preferences benefits individuals, maintaining such a preference is individually costly. Further, individuals can benefit from others possessing principled preferences without themselves possessing one. In this paper, I argue that occupying a choice situation which mirrors key aspects of our own situation, maximizing rationality requires individuals to develop and maintain principled preferences.To establish that maintaining a principled preference is individually rational for the occupants of such a choice situation, I define a range of individual strategies for them, model their choice of individual strategies as a game, and argue that this game involves an equilibrium in which all of its participants would choose to develop and maintain a principled preference.     

契约论视角下的罪犯权利

我们可以从新契约论的角度尝试建构一个罪犯权利理论,从这一理论看,罪犯权利的内容和程度的正当性的基础不仅仅是因为罪犯是人或公民,而且更是因为现代理性公民在一种公平的最初状态中的共识。形象地说,就是处于“无知之幕”之后的社会契约制订者根据最大最小值平衡的原则认可罪犯应当具有一些基本权利。其中主要包括:受惩罚权、生命权和思想自由权、不受虐待权、申诉控告权和获得基本教育和培训的权利等。     

制度正义语境下的道德自觉诉求——斯坎伦的非自利契约论道德理论解析

与罗尔斯用非自利的契约论来探求社会基本制度结构的正义性原则不同,斯坎伦关注的是"我们彼此亏欠什么"即判定道德对错的契约论准则及其促成道德动机和给予道德行为理由的效力,从而以此为制度正义理论提供微观道德基础。在功利论与道义论相互对峙的道德哲学谱系和经济繁荣伦理紧张的现实境遇中来考量,斯坎伦把道德的根基建立在平等主体都无法合情理反驳的理由上蕴涵着对人的价值和尊严的首肯,对人与人之间道德平等和对等的坚守,对人们相互承认及达成共识的期待,对彼此行动理由的合情理追问,为倚重于制度正义话语的伦理思考和当代人的道德自觉提供了独特灵感和智慧。     

Complexities of discretion in social services in the third sector

Policy analysts have devoted considerable time to examining the problem of the policy implementation gap, with one important strand in the literature following Michael Lipsky's work on street-level bureaucracy and discretion. In this paper, we aim to contribute to the literature concerning shifts in government/third sector organisation contractual arrangements and whether they constitute a significant (post-neoliberal) development in policy implementation. Using a case study of contracted government services in Australia, we revisit the conception of discretion to reflect on the impact of these changes and document their implications for the use of discretion in management and front-line worker practices.