Security and Welfare

1. Security and Welfare Michael Walzer

2. Thomas Hobbes (1588-1679) • English Philosopher • Mostly known for his Political Philosophy and Social Contract Theory

3. Social Contract Theory • Hobbes asked us to imagine a a situation in which a group of people lived with no government or no central authority or power. • In addition imagine also that basic goods needed for survival were scarce. • There would be competition for these goods among a group of equally powerful human beings. • What would such a state be like?

4. State of Nature • Hobbes calls this the “state of nature”. • He argues that such a state would be horrendous, because there would be nothing from stopping one person from killing and taking the hard earned goods another. • There would be no laws, no rules, no justice, no limits to what one can and cannot be done.

5. State of nature • Hobbes argues that the state of nature would be a “state of war”, in which everyone would be continuously looking out for their lives and defending themselves from possible attacks. • The state of nature would be “solitary, poor, nasty, brutish and short.”

6. Social Contract • In such an imaginary state it would make sense, that is, it would be in everyone’s self interest to give up some of their individual rights, if others would also be willing to give up those rights. • So person A gives up the right to attack person B when person B is alone grazing his land and person B,C,D, etc also give up their right to do the same. • These people will create an agreement, a pact, a social contract, that is mutually beneficial. • Everyone wins!

7. Enforce • Moreover, Hobbes argues that there has to be a strong enforcer, a powerful police power and presence to deter people from breaking the social contract. • Then we will be able to have SECURITY and live in PEACE and tranquility. • This will allow our community to flourish and excel, because now we can exert all of our energies into producing and creating things rather than self-defense.

8. Political Community • Even though there never was a state of nature, there is a sense in which all political communities, even the United States, has a social contract. • Even though we never explicitly agreed to any contract or agreement, there is a sense in which we implicitly agree to membership in this social contract when we participate and use our freedoms and services that the state provides.

9. political Community-Social Contract • Members of a political community therefore, have a special relationship with other members of that community. • They share a common bond, one in which the communities safety and welfare is protected a central authority.

10. Political Communities-A Natural organism • In addition to political communities being a product of a social contract, they have also been seen as natural part of human existence (Plato and Aristotle). • Human beings are political and communal in nature, because only by living in a community can human beings have many of the social, cultural, and religious institutions they have. • Moreover, Communities provide communal provisions other than security. • They provide education, welfare, justice, etc.

11. Communal Provisions • Communal provisions are the services and goods that the community provides its members, both generally (as a group) and individually (John, Mary, etc) • Communal provisions are determined fundamentally by what the community and its members NEED.

12. Community Needs • Walzer argues that even though the community provisions are determined by a community needs (or what they believe they need) the degree and priority of these needs can only be determined politically.” • “How much can only be decided politically (An should be decided politically).”

13. Critique • Why should the degree and priority of communal provisions have no rational basis? • I argue that even though it might be decided politically and perhaps this is the proper instrument for making these decisions, this does not mean that there are no set of communal provisions that because of their degree and priority are objectively better than others.

14. Communal Provisions • I believe that political process can err with respect to the degree and priority of communal provisions, where Walzer seems to believe that it cannot err: • He says, “They [Ancient Athenians] made a choice about how to spend public funds, a choice shaped presumably by their understanding of what the common life required It would be hard to argue that they made a mistake.” • Why?

15. Communal Provisions in US • Justice • Tranquility • Defense • Welfare • Liberty • These ideals are vague and can have very different interpretations. But we all understand the general idea that, as a citizen of this country, the government guarantees that we can have some degree of these in our lives.

16. social Security • The “mutual benefits club” is a system that benefits everyone at some point in time of their lives. • I will help one generation live out their old age, another generation will help me live out my old age.

17. Health Care • As a member of the political community, you want to make sure that the government or central powers assures that the food and water we consume if healthy. • The central power can do this through regulations of private farmers and food suppliers, and through the maintenance of our water supply.

18. Health care • Other general communal provisions that protect citizens: • Building Codes • Anti-pollution laws

19. Communal Provisions • However, there is also the claim that most communal provisions benefit the most vulnerable and DO NOT benefit the wealthy. • Therefore they are also a redistributive in character. • This redistribution is based on a political communities shared values, according to Walzer.

20. Walzer • “Here, then, is a more precise account of the social contract, it is an agreement to redistribute the resources of the members in accordance with some shared understanding of their needs, subject to ongoing political determination in detail. The contract is a moral bond. It connects the strong and the weak, the lucky and the unlucky, the rich and the poor, creating a union that transcends all differences, drawing its strength from its history, culture, religion, language and so on. Arguments about communal provisions are, at the deepest level, interpretations of that union.”

21. 3 Principles of Communal Provisions • 3 principles that should be applied to any modern democracy, given the social contract view we have been discussing. • (1) That every political community must attend to the needs of its members as they collectively understand those needs. • (2) That the goods that are distributed must be distributed in proportion to those needs. • (3) That the distribution must recognize and uphold the underlying equality of membership.

22. The Case of Medical Care • The history of medical care stems from a doctor-patient relationship within a free enterprise system. Mostly because the power of medical care was very limited, and having good medical care would make little difference on the lengthy and quality of one’s life. • However, today medical care is much more advanced and therefore it can make a significant difference in the longevity and quality of life of people. • Today medical care is a need.

23. from Market to Communal Provision • Disease is one of the great factors that has changed the nature of medical care. • Medical care has become a collective enterprise because the resources (money) required to deal with endemics and epidemics transcend those available from individuals. • Only a centralized power, using the resources of the entire members of the political community, can provide the training, education, hospitals and research necessary for constructing a quality health care system. One that will safe guard the health of its citizens from infectious diseases and from other illness (diabetes, cancer etc.)

24. Health care: public Service (Public Need) • If medical care is considered a public service to provide for a public need, and we accept the 3 principles that follow from social contract theory, then medical care should be distributed based on NEED and not on WEALTH. • “But the poor, the middle class, and the rich make an indefensible triage.” • Walzer claims that such a system might have very different forms and the details may vary, but the concept of NEED should be a fundamental notion in whatever shape or form the system takes.

25. Marx • “From each according to his ability (or his resources); to each according to his socially recognized needs” • This is, according to Walzer, the deepest meaning of the social contract.