Thursday, February 20, 2020

PHI 406 - Reading Response 3


In the selection by Nozick, we examined how to create a system of third-party judgement that will be fair to all people.  Nozick states, “(E)veryone has the right to defend against procedures that are in fact not, or not known to be, both reliable and fair.” Nozick makes it clear that the “protective agency” that he defined earlier in the selection is working, largely on the basis that they are in the right and others are not.  Nozick clarifies this statement by saying,

If the protective agency deems the independents’ procedures for enforcing their own rights insufficiently reliable or fair when applied to its clients, it will prohibit the independents from such self-help enforcement.

               But what are we supposed to do when the system of justice IS largely unfair to a segment of our society?  What do we make of strong-arming citizens without cause?  How do we address the systemic injustices in our legal system that the modern-day movement “Black Lives Matter” has brought to light?  Does a fair justice system exist for people of color?   

               Nozick makes concessions for possible abuses, stating that an “unreliable enforcer of justice” should be punished for causing fear in the general populations.  He also provides details of financially compensating the sufferer of an unfair justice system.  He acknowledges that a system where the justice system unfairly targets citizens, to the point that they will be reluctant to participate in the society as they would feel victimized by such a society, which is the claim of “Black Lives Matter.”  It would have been obvious to Nozick that the current legal system is balanced unfairly against people of color, and that there are many injustices committed by our system of justice.
               
               So, what can we do?  Nozick suggests that we punish the members of our justice system who are treating people of color unfairly, but this is a rather utopian ideal with all of the state sanctioned violence committed against people of color that is allowed to exist, even with body cams.  Bringing these people to justice is largely an exercise in futility with all of the unions and friends in higher places.  Maybe Nozick is right that the citizens need to install their own system of government rather than have an unfair one passed down the generations.  Maybe it’s time for a complete overhaul of the justice system.  It’s a lofty goal, but it is the only response suggested by the author.  Perhaps we should consider Anarchy.  It can’t be any worse than what we have now.



---------
Grade: 9/10
No Professor Comments.

No comments:

Post a Comment