1. Similarities between theories

PAGE 1
Moral liberalism and moral communitarianism (see pages 13-19)

•  Reject moral relativism
•  Search for a universal moral standard
•  Defend universal moral standards as grounds for preventing the arbitrary and tyrannical treatment of some people by other people

•  View the community as the primary moral agent and the determiner of the good life
•  Regard the community as possessing rights and the individual as possessing responsibilities to the community
•  Make the common good the basis of public policy decisions
•  Accept the prevention of offense and harm as the basis for legislation
•  Attempt to discover standards that can govern relationships among people familiar to each other who share a notion of the good life in small communities, such as city-states
•  Evaluate the character (or virtue) of a person

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Utilitarian and contractarian liberalism (45-58)

•  View the individual as the primary moral agent
•  View the individual as the determiner of the good life
•  Regard the individual as possessing rights and the society as having responsibilities to the individual
•  Attempt to create rules that can govern relationships between strangers in large societies, such as nation-states
•  Evaluate mainly a person’s actions, not his or her character

•  Evaluate an action by its likely results
•  Emphasize greater equality in the distribution of social goods
•  Defend the greatest good of the greatest number as the universal standard of right action
•  Accept the prevention of harm as the only basis for legislation
•  Share with libertarians a materialist worldview

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Libertarian (43-45) and autonomy (45-48; 54-58) contractarianism

•  Evaluate an action by the kind of action it is--whether it violates rights, for example.
•  Accept individual rights as the basis of a just society
•  Accept the preservation of rights as the basis for legislation
•  Regard the consent of the governed as the universal standard of right action and just policy

2. Differences between theories
 Moral liberalism vs. moral communitarianism (see pages 13-19)
 Strict vs. moderate communitarianism (23-32)
 Utilitarian vs. contractarian liberalism (45-58)
 Socialism vs. classical utilitarianism (49-54)
 Libertarian (43-45) vs. Autonomy (45-48; 54-58) contractarianism

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Moral liberalism vs. moral communitarianism

•  The individual determines the good life vs. the community determines the good life
•  The individual possesses rights vs. the community possesses rights
•  The individual is the primary moral agent vs. the community is the primary moral agent
•  Society is an aggregate of individuals vs. society is an organism
•  One’s action is the primary focus of evaluation vs. one’s character is the primary focus of evaluation
•  One knows one’s place, abilities, and interests when making decisions (the cards are up) vs. one suspends knowledge of one’s own place, abilities, and interests when making decisions (the cards are down)

•  God’s will is the universal standard of morality vs. self-realization is the universal standard of morality
•  Policy decisions are made by the one or the few vs. policy decisions may be made by the many and must take into account the needs of the many
•  The leaders are the masters of the people vs. the leaders are the servants of the people
•  Society is analogous to an individual organism vs. society is analogous to a social organism, the family
•  Foundationalist vs. non-foundationalist
•  Commitment to a single worldview (dualist foundation) vs. non-commitment to a single worldview (non-foundationalism)
•  The purpose of life has been established vs. the purpose of life remains an open question

•  The standard of “the greatest net benefit” vs. the standard of “consent of the governed”
•  The general welfare is given greater emphasis vs. individual liberty is given greater emphasis
•  The likely results of an action determine whether it is right vs. the kind of action determines whether it is right
•  Altruism is the central motive of morality vs. self-interest is the central motive of morality

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Socialism vs. classical utilitarianism

•  The general welfare of every person must be secured vs. the general welfare of most people must be secured
•  A completely equal distribution of social goods must be secured vs. a nearly equal distribution of social goods must be secured
•  Public ownership of the means of production is the ideal vs. private ownership of some of the means of production is permissible
•  Rejection of inequality based on class distinctions vs. acceptance of some inequality in the distribution of social goods

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Libertarian vs. autonomy-based contractarianism

•  Self-interest is the primary motive of morality vs. fair-mindedness is the primary motive of morality
•  Natural rights vs. negotiated rights
•  Foundationalist vs. non-foundationalist
•  Commitment to a single worldview (materialist foundation) vs. non-commitment to a single worldview (non-foundationalist)

That's all for now, folks.