POL 151 Lecture Notes - Lecture 8: Immanuel Kant, Fiduciary, Fundamental Justice
24 May 2018
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“In law a man is guilty when he violates the rights of others. In ethics he is guilty if he only
thinks of doing so.” Immanuel Kant
Democracy
Mutual Respect
democracy is premised upon two fundamental principles: equality and respect for all
individuals—i.e. mutual respect
essentially means that we as people owe one another the same consideration when making
decisions that affect them that we expect when others make decisions on our behalf.
Shugarman & Greene’s Five Principles of democracy:
Social Equality—all human beings are inherently equal by virtue of being human, but society
must ensure its disadvantaged groups must not “fall through the cracks.”
Deference to the Majority—premised on the notion of fairness in that a majority vote should
only settle issues after an effort has been made to reach broad consensus.
Minority Rights—legislative accommodations for those in society that fall under the banner
of “minority”—i.e. disabled, ethnic, religious, gender, etc.
Freedom—the capacity or the liberty to self-govern and make decisions about how to conduct
one’s life with minimal restrictions from the state
Integrity—“honesty modified by concern and respect for our fellow human beings
(Shugarman & Greene).”
Ethics
“Ethics concerns the way people ought to act in relation to one another (Shugarman & Greene).”
Ethical Duties
Transparency (openness)
principle expectation of democratic government in that as much as humanly possible, a
government should be responsive, accountable, effective and free from corruption
hence, all actions of government, all the information it collects; whatever the government’s
agenda may be should be open and available to the public
Impartiality
a corollary to the principle of mutual respect (and S & G’s five principles of democracy) in the
sense that the decision making process of public institutions must be free of bias or
disproportionate preference
Fiduciary Trust
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in their capacity as servants who work on behalf of the people, public officials are trustees of
the public interest.
entrusted by the public, public officials are in turn expected observe this honor by fulfilling
their responsibility to the act only in the public’s best interest—hence, the notion of a
“fiduciary relationship” between public officials and the public at large.
Accountability & Responsibility
public’s expectation that its public servants/officials/representatives recognize that in the
event they fail to fulfill the set requirements of their positions, they must/will be answerable
to their superiors (and sometimes the public).
Legal Principles
Rule of Law—“The rule of law, a fundamental principle of Canada’s Constitution:
1) “the law is supreme over officials of the government as well as private individuals and
thereby preclusive of the influence of arbitrary power”
2) rule of law requires the creation and maintenance of an actual order of positive laws
which preserves and embodies the more general principle of normative order.
Doctrine of Fairness:
emerged from a 1979 ruling whereby the Supreme Court sought to elaborate upon the rule of
law by emphasizing the common law principle of natural justice or “fundamental justice.”
stipulates that by virtue of their position, public officials are entrusted with the duty to always
act impartially whenever they are administrative decisions
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find more resources at oneclass.com
Document Summary
In law a man is guilty when he violates the rights of others. In ethics he is guilty if he only thinks of doing so. immanuel kant. Democracy is premised upon two fundamental principles: equality and respect for all individuals i. e. mutual respect. Essentially means that we as people owe one another the same consideration when making decisions that affect them that we expect when others make decisions on our behalf. Social equality all human beings are inherently equal by virtue of being human, but society must ensure its disadvantaged groups must not fall through the cracks. Deference to the majority premised on the notion of fairness in that a majority vote should only settle issues after an effort has been made to reach broad consensus. Minority rights legislative accommodations for those in society that fall under the banner of minority i. e. disabled, ethnic, religious, gender, etc.
