conclusionwhichIanticipatedinBooki。chap。v。:thatinthisonedepartmentofourmoralconsciousnesstheideaofFreeWillseemsinvolvedinapeculiarwayinthemoralideasofCommonSense,sinceifitiseliminatedtheimportantnotionsofDesertorMeritandJusticerequirematerialmodification。[2]
Atthesametime,thedifferencebetweenDeterministandLibertarianJusticecanhardlyhaveanypracticaleffect。Forinanycaseitdoesnotseempossibletoseparateinpracticethatpartofaman’sachievementwhichisduestrictlytohisfreechoicefromthatpartwhichisduetotheoriginalgiftofnatureandtofavouringcircumstances:sothatwemustnecessarilyleavetoprovidencetherealisationofwhatweconceiveasthetheoreticalidealofJustice,andcontentourselveswithtryingtorewardvoluntaryactionsinproportiontotheworthoftheservicesintentionallyrenderedbythem。
If,then,wetakeastheprincipleofidealjustice,sofarasthiscanbepracticallyaimedatinhumansociety,therequitalofvoluntaryservicesinproportiontotheirworth,itremainsto,consideronwhatprincipleorprinciplesthecomparativeworthofdifferentservicesistoberationallyestimated。Thereisnodoubtthatwecommonlyassumesuchanestimatetobepossible;forwecontinuallyspeakofthe`fair’
or`proper’priceofanykindofservicesassomethinggenerallyknown,andcondemnthedemandformorethanthisasextortionate。ItmaybesaidthatthenotionofFairnessorEquitywhichweordinarilyapplyinsuchjudgmentsistobedistinguishedfromthatofJustice;EquitybeinginfactoftencontrastedwithstrictJustice,andconceivedascapableofcomingintocollisionwithit。Andthisispartlytrue:butIthinkthewiderandnolessusualsenseofthetermJustice,inwhichitincludesEquityorFairness,istheonlyonethatcanbeconvenientlyadoptedinanethicaltreatise:forinanycasewhereEquitycomesintoconflictwithstrictjustice,itsdictatesareheldtobeinahighersensejust,andwhatoughttobeultimatelycarriedintoeffectinthecaseconsidered——thoughnot,perhaps,bytheadministratorsoflaw。ItreatEquity,therefore,asaspeciesofJustice;thoughnotingthattheformertermismoreordinarilyusedincaseswherethedefinitenessattainableisrecognisedassomewhatlessthaninordinarycasesofrightfulclaimsarisingoutoflaworcontract。
Onwhatprinciple,then,canwedeterminethe``fair’’or``equitable’’
priceofservices?Whenweexaminethecommonjudgmentsofpracticalpersonsinwhichthisjudgmentoccurs,wefind,Ithink,thatthe`fair’insuchcasesisascertainedbyareferencetoanalogyandcustom,andthatanyserviceisconsideredtobe`fairlyworth’whatisusuallygivenforservicesofthekind。HencethiselementofthenotionofJusticemayseem,afterall,toresolveitselfintothatdiscussedin§;2:andinsomestatesofsocietyitcertainlyappearsthatthepaymenttobegivenforservicesisascompletelyfixedbyusageasanyothercustomaryduty,sothatitwouldbeacleardisappointmentofnormalexpectationtodeviatefromthisusage。ButprobablynooneinamoderncivilisedcommunitywouldmaintaininitsfullbreadththisidentificationoftheJustwiththeUsualpriceofservices:andsofarasthejudgmentsofpracticalpersonsmayseemtoimplythis,Ithinkitmustbeadmittedthattheyaresuperficialormerelyinadvertent,andignoretheestablishedmodeofdeterminingthemarketpricesofcommoditiesbyfreecompetitionofproducersandtraders。
Forwheresuchcompetitionoperatesthemarketvaluerisesandfalls,andisdifferentatdifferentplacesandtimes;sothatnoproperlyinstructedpersoncanexpectanyfixityinit,orcomplainofinjusticemerelyonaccountofthevariationsinit。
Canwethensaythat`marketvalue’asdeterminedbyfreecompetitioncorrespondstoournotionofwhatisideallyjust?
Thisisaquestionofmuchinterest,becausethisisobviouslythemodeofdeterminingtheremunerationofservicesthatwouldbeuniversalinasocietyconstructedontheprinciplepreviouslydiscussed,ofsecuringthegreatestpossibleFreedomtoallmembersofthecommunity。Itshouldbeobservedthatthis,whichwemaycalltheIndividualisticIdeal,isthetypetowhichmoderncivilisedcommunitieshave,untillately,beentendingtoapproximate:anditisthereforeveryimportanttoknowwhetheritisonewhichcompletelysatisfiesthedemandsofmorality;andwhetherFreedom,ifnotanabsoluteendorFirstPrincipleofabstractJustice,isstilltobesoughtasthebestmeanstotherealisationofajustsocialorderbythegeneralrequitalofDesert。
Atfirstsightitseemsplausibletourgethatthe`marketvalue’representstheestimatesetuponanythingbymankindgenerally,andthereforegivesusexactlythat`commonsense’
judgmentrespectingvaluewhichwearenowtryingtofind。Butonexaminationitseemslikelythatthemajorityofmenarenotproperlyqualifiedtodecideonthevalueofmanyimportantkindsofservices,fromimperfectknowledgeoftheirnatureandeffects;sothat,asfarastheseareconcerned,thetruejudgmentwillnotberepresentedinthemarket-place。Eveninthecaseofthingswhichamanisgenerallyabletoestimate,itmaybemanifestinaparticularcasethatheisignorantoftherealutilityofwhatheexchanges;andinthiscasethe`free’contracthardlyseemstobefair:thoughiftheignorancewasnotcausedbytheotherpartytotheexchange,CommonSenseishardlypreparedtocondemnthelatterasunjustfortakingadvantageofit。Forinstance,ifamanhasdiscoveredbyalegitimateuseofgeologicalknowledgeandskillthatthereisprobablyavaluablemineonlandownedbyastranger,reasonablepersonswouldnotblamehimforconcealinghisdiscoveryuntilhehadboughtthemineatitsmarketvalue:yetitcouldnotbesaidthatthesellergotwhatitwasreallyworth。InfactCommonSenseisratherperplexedonthispoint:
andtherationaleoftheconclusionatwhichitarrives,must,I
conceive,besoughtineconomicconsiderations,whichtakeusquitebeyondtheanalysisofthecommonnotionofJustice。[4]
Again,therearesocialservicesrecognisedashighlyimportantwhichgenerallyspeakinghavenopriceinanymarket,onaccountoftheindirectnessanduncertaintyoftheirpracticalutility:
as,forinstance,scientificdiscoveries。Theextenttowhichanygivendiscoverywillaidindustrialinventionissouncertain,thatevenifthesecretofitcouldbeconvenientlykept,itwouldnotusuallybeprofitabletobuyit。
Butevenifweconfineourattentiontoproductsandservicesgenerallymarketable,andtobargainsthoroughlyunderstoodonbothsides,therearestillseriousdifficultiesinthewayofidentifyingthenotionsof`free’and`fair’exchange。Thus,whereanindividual,orcombinationofindividuals,hasthemonopolyofacertainkindofservices,themarket-priceoftheaggregateofsuchservicescanundercertainconditionsbeincreasedbydiminishingtheirtotalamount;butitwouldseemabsurdtosaythatthesocialDesertofthoserenderingtheservicesistherebyincreased,andaplainmanhasgravedoubtswhetherthepricethusattainedisfair。Stilllessisitthoughtfairtotakeadvantageofthetransientmonopolyproducedbyemergency:thus,ifIsawCroesusdrowningandnoonenear,itwouldnotbeheldfairinmetorefusetosavehimexceptatthepriceofhalfhiswealth。Butifso,canitbefairforanyclassofpersonstogaincompetitivelybytheunfavourableeconomicsituationofanotherclasswithwhichtheydeal?Andifweadmitthatitwouldbeunfair,wherearewetodrawtheline?Foranyincreaseofthenumbersofaclassrendersitssituationforbargaininglessfavourable:sincethemarketpriceofdifferentservicesdependspartlyupontheeaseordifficultyofprocuringthem——asPoliticalEconomistssay,`ontherelationbetweenthesupplyofservicesandthedemandforthem’——anditdoesnotseemthatanyindividual’ssocialDesertcanproperlybelessenedmerelybytheincreasednumberorwillingnessofothersrenderingthesameservices。
Nor,indeed,doesitseemthatitcanbedecreasedbyhisownwillingness,foritisstrangetorewardamanlessbecauseheiszealousandeagerintheperformanceofhisfunction;yetinbargainingthelesswillingalwayshastheadvantage,And,finally,ithardlyappearsthatthesocialworthofaman’sserviceisnecessarilyincreasedbythefactthathisserviceisrenderedtothosewhocanpaylavishly;buthisrewardiscertainlylikelytobegreaterfromthiscause。
SuchconsiderationsasthesehaveledsomepoliticalthinkerstoholdthatJusticerequiresamodeofdistributingpaymentforservices,entirelydifferentfromthatatpresenteffectedbyfreecompetition:
andthatalllabourersoughttobepaidaccordingtotheintrinsicvalueoftheirlabourasestimatedbyenlightenedandcompetentjudges。IftheSocialisticIdeal——aswemayperhapscallit——couldberealisedwithoutcounter-balancingevils,itwouldcertainlyseemtogiveanearerapproximationtowhatweconceiveasDivineJusticethanthepresentstateofsocietyaffords。Butthissupposesthatwehavefoundtherationalmethodofdeterminingvalue:which,however,isstilltoseek。Shallwesaythatthesejudgesaretotakethevalueofaserviceasproportionatetotheamountofhappinessproducedbyit?Ifso,thecalculationis,ofcourse,exposedtoallthedifficultiesofthehedonisticmethoddiscussedinBookii。:butsupposingthesecanbeovercome,itisstillhardtosayhowwearetocomparethevalueofdifferentservicesthatmustnecessarilybecombinedtoproducehappylife。Forexample,howshallwecomparetherespectivevaluesofnecessariesandluxuries?forwemaybemoresensibleoftheenjoymentderivedfromthelatter,butwecouldnothavethisatallwithouttheformer。And,again,whendifferentkindsoflabourco-operateinthesameproduction,howarewetoestimatetheirrelativevalues?forevenifallmereunskilledlabourmaybebroughttoacommonstandard,thisseemsalmostimpossibleintheeaseofdifferentkindsofskill。Forhowshallwecomparethelabourofdesignwiththatofachievement?orthesupervisionofthewholewiththeexecutionofdetails?orthelabourofactuallyproducingwiththatofeducatingproducers?ortheserviceofthesavantwhodiscoversanewprinciple,withthatoftheinventorwhoappliesit?
Idonotseehowthesequestions,orthedifficultiesnoticedintheprecedingparagraph,canbemetbyanyanalysisofourcommonnotionofJustice。Todealwithsuchpointsatallsatisfactorilywehave,Iconceive,toadoptquiteadifferentlineofreasoning:wehavetoask,notwhatservicesofacertainkindareintrinsicallyworth,butwhatrewardcanprocurethemandwhethertherestofsocietygainbytheservicesmorethantheequivalentreward。Wehave,inshort,togiveupasimpracticabletheconstructionofanideallyjustsocialorder,inwhichallservicesarerewardedinexactproportiontotheirintrinsicvalue。And,forsimilarreasons,weseemforcedtoconclude,moregenerally,thatitisimpossibletoobtainclearpremisesforareasonedmethodofdeterminingexactlydifferentamountsofGoodDesert。Indeed,perhaps,CommonSensescarcelyholdssuchamethodtobepossible:forthoughitconsidersIdealJusticetoconsistinrewardingDesert,itregardsasUtopiananygeneralattempttorealisethisidealinthesocialdistributionofthemeansofhappiness。IntheactualstateofsocietyitisonlywithinaverylimitedrangethatanyendeavourismadetorewardGoodDesert。
Parentsattemptthistosomeextentindealingwiththeirchildren,andtheStateinrewardingremarkablepublicservicesrenderedbystatesmen,soldiers,etc。:butreflectiononthesecaseswillshowhowveryroughandimperfectarethestandardsusedindecidingtheamountdue。AndordinarilytheonlykindofJusticewhichwetrytorealiseisthatwhichconsistsinthefulfilmentofcontractsanddefiniteexpectations;leavingthegeneralfairnessofDistributionbyBargainingtotakecareofitself。
WhenwepasstoconsiderthecaseofCriminalJustice,wefind,inthefirstplace,difficultiescorrespondingtothosewhichwehavealreadynoticed。Wefind,tobegin,asimilarimplicationandpartialconfusionoftheideasofLawandJustice。For,aswassaid,by`bringingamantoJustice’wecommonlymean`inflictinglegalpunishment’onhim:andwethinkitrightthatneithermorenorlessthanthepenaltyprescribedbylawshouldbeexecuted,eventhoughwemayregardthelegalscaleofpunishmentasunjust。Atthesametime,wehavenosuchperplexityinrespectofchangesinthelawasoccursinthecaseofCivilJustice;forwedonotthinkthatamancanacquire,bycustom,prescriptiverightstoover-lenientpunishment,asheisthoughttodotoanunequaldistributionoflibertiesandprivileges。IfnowweinvestigatetheidealofCriminalJustice,asintuitivelydetermined,wecertainlyfindthatinsofaraspunishmentisnotregardedasmerelypreventive,itiscommonlythoughtthatitoughttobeproportionedtothegravityofcrime。[2]Still,whenweendeavourtomakethemethodofapportionmentperfectlyrationalandprecise,thedifficultiesseematleastasgreatasinthecaseofGoodDesert。For,first,theassumptionofFreeWillseemsnecessarilytocomeinherealso;
sinceifaman’sbaddeedsareentirelycausedbynatureandcircumstances,itcertainlyappears,asRobertOwenurged,thathedoesnotproperlydeservetobepunishedforthem;Justicewouldratherseemtorequireustotrytoaltertheconditionsunderwhichheacts。Andweactuallydopunishdeliberateoffencesmorethanimpulsive,perhapsasimplyingamorefreechoiceofevil。Again,wethinkthatoffencescommittedbypersonswhohavebadnomoraltraining,orapervertedtraining,arereallylesscriminal;
atthesametimeitiscommonlyagreedthatmencanhardlyremitpunishmentonthisaccount。Againthegravity——fromamoralpointofview——ofacrimeseemstobeatleastmuchreduced,ifthemotivebelaudable,aswhenamankillsavillainwhosecrimeseludelegalpunishment,orheadsahopelessrebellionforthegoodofhiscountry:stillitwouldbeparadoxicaltoaffirmthatweoughttoreducepunishmentproportionally:CommonSensewouldholdthat——whateverGodmaydo——menmust,generallyspeaking,inflictseverepunishmentforanygravelymischievousactforbiddenbylawwhichhasbeenintentionallydone,eventhoughitmayhavebeenpromptedbyagoodmotive。
Butevenifweneglectthemotive,andtaketheintentiononlyintoaccount,itisnoteasytostateclearprinciplesfordeterminingthegravityofcrimes。Forsometimes,asinthecaseofthepatrioticrebel,theintentionofthecriminalistodowhatisrightandgood:andinmanycases,thoughheknowsthatheisdoingwrong,hedoesnotintendtocauseanyactualharmtoanysentientbeing;aswhenathieftakeswhatbethinkswillnotbemissed。Again,wedonotcommonlythinkthatacrimeisrenderedlessgravebybeingkeptperfectlysecret;andyetagreatpartoftheharmdonebyacrimeisthe`secondaryevil’asBenthamcallsitofthealarmandinsecuritywhichitcauses;andthispartiscutoffbycompletesecrecy。Itmayberepliedthatthislatterdifficultyisnotapracticalone;becausewearenotcalledupontopunishacrimeuntilithasbeendiscovered,andthenthesecondaryevilhasbeencaused,andisallthegreaterbecauseoftheprevioussecrecy。Butitremainstruethatitwasnotdesignedfordiscovery;andthereforethatthispartoftheevilcausedbythecrimewasnotintendedbythecriminal。
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