NCERT Solutions for Class 11 Political Science Chapter 14 Social Justice

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65. What does it mean to give each person his/her due? How has the meaning of “giving each his due” changed over time?

Ans. This idea of giving each person his due supports the concept of providing equality of opportunity to each individual of the society to achieve his dreams. For this every individual should have access to basic education, nutrition level and clean drinking water and health facilities.

This meaning becomes multi-dimensional with the passage of time as the needs of the people keeps on changing as per the situations they are in.

66. Briefly discuss the three principles of justice outlined in the chapter? Explain each with examples.

Ans. The three important principles of justice are:

(a) The first principle says that there should be equal treatments with the equals.

Example: Every individual should be given right to life and liberty and property.

(b) There should be recognition of the merit and skills of the people while the distribution of rewards and burdens.

Example: The people having more intellect and doing more hard work should make more money as compared to other ordinary people.

(c) The third principle says that special treatment should be given to certain classes in terms of ensuring basic necessities and level playing field for equal opportunities.

Example: The specially disabled people should be given special treatment during examination, while standing in the lines and other public places.

67. Does the principle of considering the special needs of people conflict with the principle of equal treatment for all?

Ans. The principle of considering the special need of people does not raise a conflict with the principle of equal treat of all in the following way.

(a) People with special needs are given special treatment to facilitate their participation in the society.

(b) The senior citizen, women and socially backward class need special treatment so that they can enter in main stream of the society.

68. How does Rawls use the idea of a veil of ignorance to argue that fair and just distribution can be defended on rational grounds?

Ans. John Rawls gave the veil of ignorance theory for understanding the idea of justice.

(a) Under this theory a person should forget about his true identity and imagine himself in different sections of the society.

(b) This exercise will help the people to understand their behaviour in different situations and from the point of view of the others.

(c) In the society where no one has the idea in which section they will belong to they will think from the point of view of the worst off.

(d) This way an individual will be able to evaluate the benefits of being born in wealthy family and also acknowledge the disadvantages of being born in a poor family.

(e) It will give justification to the fact that some sections of the society receives special treatment from the government in terms of education, health and other basic necessities.

69. What are generally considered to be the basic minimum requirements of people for living a healthy and productive life? What is the responsibility of governments in trying to ensure this minimum to all?

Ans. Several international agencies and governments have agreed on some of the things that are the basic necessities of the individuals. Some of them are:

(a) There should be some basic amount of nourishment that every individual should get so that he remains healthy. Other things are housing and access to clean water.

(b) Other important things are education and a minimum wage for their work are important for an individual to become capable of achieving his dream.

Role of government: There should be proper laws and government policies implemented in the society so that every section gets benefits from them.

(a) There should be a fair distribution of the goods and services in the society among the people.

(b) The societies in which social and economic inequalities are higher, government should intervene and distribute the resources in such a way that there should be a level playing field for the people.

70. Which of the following arguments could be used to justify state action to provide basic minimum conditions of life to all citizens?

(a) Providing free services to the poor and needy can be justified as an act of charity.

(b) Providing all citizens with a basic minimum standard of living is one way of ensuring equality of opportunity.

(d) Ensuring basic facilities and a minimum standard of living to all is a recognition of our shared humanity and a human right.

Ans. (d) Ensuring basic facilities and a minimum standard of living to all is a recognition of our shared humanity and a human right.