ABSTRACT
This chapter considers three real-world fairness cases in light of principles of distributive justice, which provide guidance for the allocation of benefits and burdens in society. The libertarian approach espoused by Nozick focuses on protecting the freedom of the individual to engage in just acquisitions and transfers of goods. Given the large inequities in the American educational system and the associated achievement gaps, an effort to increase diversity might well involve de-emphasis of traditional admissions criteria, such as test scores and high school grade point averages. The ultimate goal of educational policies should be to improve the welfare of all, including the least advantaged. Rawls’s focus on the importance of opportunity and the remediation of disadvantage seems consonant with the needs and realities of American society today.
