Who should get what, and why

Personal & Social Development · Ethics & Philosophy · ages 16-18

Name ______________________ Date ____________

The sickest patient should get the medicine first. Which basis is that?
- Need
- Equal shares
- Desert
Which three bases compete for sharing something scarce?
- Age, height, and luck
- Need, effort, and equal shares
- Speed, strength, and fame
Behind the veil of ignorance you know exactly who you will be.
Circle one: True False
Why does ignorance about your own position make the rules fairer?
- You cannot rig the game for yourself
- You forget what rules are
- You stop caring about anyone
Medicine by need feels right, yet need based prizes ignore effort. What does that show?
- Effort never matters
- Each basis fits some cases and fails others
- Need never matters
Paying surgeons more is allowed, on this view, only when...?
- Hospitals look richer
- It helps the worst off, so everyone gets care
- Surgeons demand it loudly
A school gives extra tutoring to pupils who fell behind. Which conception, and why?
- Need, since it directs help where the gap is
- Desert, since they earned it
- Equality, since all get the same hours
A town charges identical litter fines to rich and poor residents. Which conception does it assume?
- Need matters most
- Effort decides everything
- Equal treatment matters more than unequal burden

Answer key

For grown-ups. Fold this page away before handing over the rest.

Need · The sickest patient suffers most, so need decides. Equality would hand out identical pills instead.
Need, effort, and equal shares · Need, effort, and equality are the three rivals. The other lists are random traits, not reasons.
False · False. Ignorance of your own place is the whole device. Knowing it would let you rig the rules.
You cannot rig the game for yourself · Self interest drops out when you might land anywhere. Caution then protects every position, including the bottom.
Each basis fits some cases and fails others · No basis wins everywhere. Swapping the cases exposes each one's blind spot in turn.
It helps the worst off, so everyone gets care · That is the difference rule. A gap must justify itself to the person at the bottom.
Need, since it directs help where the gap is · Help flows to the gap, not to merit or sameness. Like free school meals, this policy assumes need leads.
Equal treatment matters more than unequal burden · Same coins for all ignores how each feels the loss. That trade reveals sameness outweighing burden here.