首页 >出版文学> Methods of Ethics>第43章
  Otherdifficultiesmightberaised:butweneednotpursuethem,forifFreedombetakensimplytomeanthatoneman’sactionsaretobeaslittleaspossiblerestrainedbyothers,itisobviouslymorefullyrealisedwithoutappropriation。Andifitbesaidthatitincludes,besidethis,facilityandsecurityinthegratificationofdesires,andthatitisFreedominthissensethatwethinkshouldbeequallydistributed,andthatthiscannotberealisedwithoutappropriation;thenitmaybereplied,thatinasocietywherenearlyallmaterialthingsarealreadyappropriated,thiskindofFreedomisnotandcannotbeequallydistributed。Amanbornintosuchasociety,withoutinheritance,isnotonlyfairlessfreethanthosewhopossessproperty,butheislessfreethaniftherehadbeennoappropriation。Itmaybesaidthat,havingfreedomofcontract,hewillgivehisservicesinexchangefortilemeansofsatisfyinghiswants;andthatthisexchangemustnecessarilygivehimmorethanhecouldhavegotifhehadbeenplacedintheworldbyhimself;that,infact,anyhumansocietyalwaysrendersthepartoftheearththatitinhabitsmorecapableofaffordinggratificationofdesirestoeachandallofitslater-bornmembersthanitwouldotherwisebe。Buthowevertruethismaybeasageneralrule,itisobviouslynotsoinallcases:asmenaresometimesunabletoselltheirservicesatall,andoftencanonlyobtaininexchangeforthemaninsufficientsubsistence。And,evengrantingittobetrue,itdoesnotprovethatsociety,byappropriation,hasnotinterferedwiththenaturalfreedomofitspoorer。members:butonlythatitcompensatesthemforsuchinterference,andthatthecompensationisadequate:anditmustbeevidentthatifcompensationintheformofmaterialcommoditiescanbejustlygivenforanencroachmentonFreedom,therealisationofFreedomcannotbetheoneultimateendofdistributiveJustice。
  Itseems,then,thatthoughFreedomisanobjectofkeenandgeneraldesire,andanimportantsourceofhappiness,bothinitselfandindirectlyfromthesatisfactionofnaturalimpulseswhichitallows,theattempttomakeitthefundamentalnotionoftheoreticalJurisprudenceisattendedwithinsuperabledifficulties:
  andthateventheNaturalRightswhichitclaimstocovercannotbebroughtunderitexceptinaveryforcedandarbitrarymanner。Butfurther,evenifthiswereotherwise,anequaldistributionofFreedomdoesnotseemtoexhaustournotionofJustice。IdealJustice,aswecommonlyconceiveit,seemstodemandthatnotonlyFreedombutallotherbenefitsandburdensshouldbedistributed,ifnotequally,atanyratejustly,——JusticeindistributionbeingregardedasnotidenticalwithEquality,butmerelyexclusiveofarbitraryinequality。
  How,then,shallwefindtheprincipleofthishighestandmostcomprehensiveideal?
  Weshallbeledtoit,Ithink,byreferringagaintooneofthegroundsofobligationtorenderservices,whichwasnoticedinthelastchapter:theclaimofGratitude。Itthereappearedthatwehavenotonlyanaturalimpulsetorequitebenefits,butalsoaconvictionthatsuchrequitalisaduty,anditsomissionblameworthy,tosomeextentatleast;thoughwefinditdifficulttodefinetheextent。
  Nowitseemsthatwhenwe,sotosay,universalisethisimpulseandconviction,wegettheelementinthecommonviewofJustice,whichwearenowtryingtodefine。Forifwetaketheproposition`thatgooddonetoanyindividualoughttoberequitedbyhim’,andleaveouttherelationtotheindividualineithertermoftheproposition,weseemtohaveanequallystrongconvictionofthetruthofthemoregeneralstatement`thatgooddeedsoughttoberequited’。Andifwetakeintoconsiderationallthedifferentkindsanddegreesofservices,uponthemutualexchangeofwhichsocietyisbased,wegettheproposition`thatmenoughttoberewardedinproportiontotheirdeserts’。AndthiswouldbecommonlyheldtobethetrueandsimpleprincipleofdistributioninanycasewheretherearenoclaimsarisingfromContractorCustomtomodifyitsoperation。
  Forexample,itwouldbeadmittedthat——iftherehasbeennopreviousarrangement——theprofitsofanyworkorenterpriseshouldbedividedamongthosewhohavecontributedtoitssuccessinproportiontotheworthoftheirservices。Anditmaybeobserved,thatsomethinkersmaintainthepropositiondiscussedintheprevioussection——thatLawoughttoaimatsecuringthegreatestpossibleFreedomforeachindividual——notasabsoluteandaxiomatic,butasderivativefromtheprinciplethatDesertoughttoberequited;onthegroundthatthebestwayofprovidingfortherequitalofDesertistoleavemenasfreeaspossibletoexertthemselvesforthesatisfactionoftheirowndesires,andsotowineachhisownrequital。
  AndthisseemstobereallytheprincipleuponwhichtheRightofPropertyisrested,whenitisjustifiedbythepropositionthateveryonehasanexclusiverighttotheproduceofhislabour。Foronreflectionitisseenthatnolabourreally`produces’anymaterialthing,butonlyaddstoitsvalue:andwedonotthinkthatamancanacquirearighttoamaterialthingbelongingtoanotherbyspendinghislabouronit——evenifhedoessointhebonafidebeliefthatitishisownproperty——butonlytoadequatecompensationforhislabour;this,therefore,iswhatthepropositionjustquotedmustmean。Theprincipleis,indeed,sometimesstretchedtoexplaintheoriginalrightofpropertyinmaterials,asbeinginasense`produced’i。e。foundbytheirfirstdiscoverer;buthereagain,reflectionshowsthatCommonSensedoesnotgrantthisasamoralrightabsolutely,butonlyinsofarasitappearstobenotmorethanadequatecompensationforthediscoverer’strouble。Forexample,weshouldnotconsiderthatthefirstfinderofalargeuninhabitedregionhadamoralrighttoappropriatethewholeofit。Hencethisjustificationoftherightofpropertyrefersusultimatelytotheprinciple`thateverymanoughttoreceiveadequaterequitalforhislabour’。So,again,whenwespeakoftheworldasjustlygovernedbyGod,weseemtomeanthat,ifwecouldknowthewholeofhumanexistence,weshouldfindthathappinessisdistributedamongmenaccordingtotheirdeserts。AndDivineJusticeisthoughttobeapatternwhichHumanJusticeistoimitateasfarastheconditionsofhumansocietyallow。
  ThiskindofJustice,ashasbeensaid,seemslikeGratitudeuniversalised:andthesameprincipleappliedtopunishmentmaysimilarlyberegardedasResentmentuniversalised;thoughthe,parallelisincomplete,ifweareconsideringthepresentstateofourmoralconceptions。
  Historyshowsusatimeinwhichitwasthoughtnotonlyasnatural,butasclearlyrightandincumbentonaman,torequiteinjuriesastorepaybenefits:butasmoralreflectiondevelopedinEuropethisnotionwasrepudiated,sothatPlatotaughtthatitcouldneverberightreallytoharmanyone,howeverhemayhaveharmedus。AndthisistheaccepteddoctrineinChristiansocieties,asregardsrequitalbyindividualsofpersonalwrongs。ButinitsuniversalisedformtheoldconvictionstilllingersinthepopularviewofCriminalJustice:itseemsstilltobewidelyheldthatJusticerequirespaintobeinflictedonamanwhohasdonewrong,evenifnobenefitresulteithertohimortoothersfromthepain。Personally,IamsofarfromholdingthisviewthatIhaveaninstinctiveandstrongmoralaversiontoit:andIhesitatetoattributeittoCommonSense,sinceIthinkthatitisgraduallypassingawayfromthemoralconsciousnessofeducatedpersonsinthemostadvancedcommunities:butIthinkitisstillperhapsthemoreordinaryview。
  This,then,isoneelementofwhatAristotlecallsCorrectiveJustice,whichisembodiedincriminallaw。ItmustnotbeconfoundedwiththeprincipleofReparation,onwhichlegalawardsofdamagesarebased。WehavealreadynoticedthisasasimpledeductionfromthemaximofgeneralBenevolence,whichforbidsustodoharmtoourfellow-creatures:forifwehaveharmedthem,wecanyetapproximatelyobeythemaximbygivingcompensationfortheharm。Thoughherethequestionariseswhetherweareboundtomakereparationforharmthathasbeenquiteblamelesslycaused:anditisnoteasytoansweritdecisively。Onthewhole,Ithinkweshouldcondemnamanwhodidnotoffersomereparationforanyseriousinjurycausedbyhimtoanother——evenifquiteinvoluntarilycaused,andwithoutnegligence:
  butperhapsweregardthisratherasadutyofBenevolence——arisingoutofthegeneralsympathythateachoughttohaveforothers,intensifiedbythisspecialoccasion——thanasadutyofstrictJustice。If,however,welimittherequirementofReparation,undertheheadofstrictJustice,tocasesinwhichthemischiefrepairedisduetoactsoromissionsinsomedegreeculpable,adifficultyarisesfromthedivergencebetweenthemoralviewofculpability,andthatwhichsocialsecurityrequires。OfthisIwillspeakpresently。InanycasethereisnownodangerofconfusionorcollisionbetweentheprincipleofReparativeandthatofRetributiveJustice,astheoneismanifestlyconcernedwiththeclaimsoftheinjuredparty,andtheotherwiththedesertsofthewrongdoer:thoughintheactualadministrationofLawtheobligationofpayingcompensationforwrongmaysometimesbetreatedasasufficientpunishmentforthewrongdoer。
  When,however,weturnagaintotheotherbranchofRetributiveJustice,whichisconcernedwiththerewardofservices,wefindanothernotion,whichIwillcallFitness,oftenblendedindistinguishablywiththenotionofDesert,andsoneedingtobecarefullyseparatedfromit;andwhenthedistinctionhasbeenmade,weseethatthetwoareliabletocomeintocollision。Idonotfeelsurethattheprincipleof`distributionaccordingtoFitness’isfound,strictlyspeaking,intheanalysisoftheordinarynotionofJustice:butitcertainlyentersintoourcommonconceptionoftheidealorperfectlyrationalorderofsociety,asregardsthedistributionbothofinstrumentsandfunctions,andtosomeextentatleastofothersourcesofhappiness。Wecertainlythinkitreasonablethatinstrumentsshouldbegiventothosewhocanusethembest,andfunctionsallottedtothosewhoaremostcompetenttoperformthem:butthesemaynotbethosewhohaverenderedmostservicesinthepast。Andagain,wethinkitreasonablethatparticularmaterialmeansofenjoymentshouldfalltothelotofthosewhoaresusceptibleoftherespectivekindsofpleasure;asnoonewouldthinkofallottingpicturestoablindman,orrarewinestoonewhohadnotaste:henceweshouldprobablythinkitfittingthatartistsshouldhavelargersharesthanmechanicsinthesocialdistributionofwealth,thoughtheymaybebynomeansmoredeserving。ThusthenotionsofDesertandFitnessappearatleastoccasionallyconflicting;butperhaps,asIhavesuggested,Fitnessshouldratherberegardedasautilitarianprincipleofdistribution,inevitablylimitingtherealisationofwhatisabstractlyjust,thanasapartoftheinterpretationofJusticeproper:anditiswiththelatterthatweareatpresentconcerned。
  AtanyrateitistheRequitalofDesertthatconstitutesthechiefelementofIdealJustice,insofarasthisimportssomethingmorethanmereEqualityandImpartiality。LetusthenexaminemorecloselywhereinDesertconsists;
  andwewillbeginwithGoodDesertorMerit,asbeingofthemostfundamentalandpermanentimportance;forwemayhopethatcrimeanditspunishmentwilldecreaseandgraduallydisappearastheworldimproves,buttherightorbestdistributionofthemeansofwellbeingisanobjectthatwemustalwaysbestrivingtorealise。
  Andfirst,thequestionwhichwehadtoconsiderindefiningGratitudeagainrecurs:whether,namely,wearetoapportiontherewardtotheeffortmade,ortotheresultsattained。Foritmaybesaidthattheactualutilityofanyservicemustdependmuchuponfavourablecircumstancesandfortunateaccidents,notduetoanydesertoftheagent:oragain,maybeduetopowersandskillswhichwereconnate,orhavebeendevelopedbyfavourableconditionsoflife,orbygoodeducation,andwhyshouldwerewardhimforthese?forthelast-mentionedweoughtrathertorewardthosewhohaveeducatedhim。AndcertainlyitisonlyinsofarasmoralexcellencesareexhibitedinhumanachievementsthattheyarecommonlythoughttobesuchasGodwillreward。Butbydrawingthislinewedonotyetgetridofthedifficulty。Foritmaystillbesaidthatgoodactionsaredueentirely,ortoagreatextent,togooddispositionsandhabits,andthatthesearepartlyinheritedandpartlyduetothecareofparentsandteachers;sothatinrewardingthesewearerewardingtheresultsofnaturalandaccidentaladvantages,anditisunreasonabletodistinguishthesefromothers,suchasskillandknowledge,andtosaythatitisevenideallyjusttorewardtheoneandnottheother。Shallwesay,then,thattherewardshouldbeproportionatetotheamountofvoluntaryeffortforagoodend?ButDeterministswillsaythateventhisisultimatelytheeffectofcausesextraneoustotheman’sself。OntheDeterministview,then,itwouldseemtobeideallyjustifanythingissothatallmenshouldenjoyequalamountsofhappiness:forthereseemstobenojusticeinmakingAhappierthanB,merelybecausecircumstancesbeyondhisowncontrolhavefirstmadehimbetter。Butwhyshouldwenot,insteadof’allmen’,say’allsentientbeings’?forwhyshouldmenhavemorehappinessthananyotheranimal?ButthusthepursuitofidealjusticeseemstoconductustosuchaprecipiceofparadoxthatCommonSenseislikelytoabandonit。AtanyratetheordinaryideaofDeserthasthusaltogethervanished。Andthusweseemtobeledtothe