Read W8 articles, then answer (1 page) o Rawls’ liberalism and Trotsky’s communism have in common the goal of bettering the poor. Name at least two ways that Rawls and Trotsky differ. o Name at least two ways that Rawls’ left-liberal theory of justice (its two principles of equal liberty and equal opportunity) differ from right-liberal libertarianism, and at least one way that Rawls and libertarianism are mostly the same.
Read W9 articles, then answer (1.5 page) o Mill is much more worried about the social tyranny of the majority than the legal tyranny of the majority. Public opinion can destroy: consider twitter-shaming episodes in recent history. He does not propose to legally prohibit social disapproval of harmful self-regarding behavior. He does argue, however, in order that social pressure not interfere with personal liberty, that one is morally obliged not to manifestly disapprove of such behavior. Assuming that people complied, what would be the moral and practical advantages and disadvantages of such an obligation? o Concerned that American democracy will succumb to fascism, and dismissing Mill’s claim that a competitive marketplace of ideas is the best feasible alternative as a way for a society to approximate truth, philosopher Jason Stanley wants to limit the dissemination of conspiracy theories and other false, bizarre, and irrational ideas. https://bostonreview.net/politics-philosophy-religion/jason-stanley-what-mill-got-wrong-about-freedom-of-speech The Russia Today television network and “fascist politics” propagate numerous such ideas in order “to undermine trust in the press and universities.” It’s not clear from his text whether such limitation would be enforced by the state, but it is clear that he urges “responsible media” not to report what he considers falsehoods. Elsewhere, Facebook has partnered with the Atlantic Council, the think tank of the NATO military-industrial complex, to advise on the policing of disinformation. https://t.co/qgv7IgC4rR – Answer either A. or B. – A. Who should decide on which ideas are false and hence not suitable for the wider public? – B. Design a better public truth-discovery system. Print media included almost all ideas, but the great bulk of the ideas were filtered through various editorial gates that sometimes were credibility-branded. Online media is much less filtered and is much more anonymous or difficult to trace. Is there a technological option respectful of liberty that somehow falls between an anarchic intemet and the clandestine management of the “truth” by technological and economic elites?
