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University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School

Moral and Political Philosophy

Legal Studies

Articles 1 - 13 of 13

Full-Text Articles in Law

Punishment As Contract, Claire Oakes Finkelstein Jan 2011

Punishment As Contract, Claire Oakes Finkelstein

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This paper provides a sketch of a contractarian approach to punishment, according to a version of contractarianism one might call “rational contractarianism,” by contrast with the normative contractarianism of John Rawls. Rational contractarianism suggests a model according to which rational agents, with maximal, rather than minimal, knowledge of their life circumstances, would agree to the outlines of a particular social institution or set of social institutions because they view themselves as faring best in such a society governed by such institutions, as compared with a society governed by different institutional schemes available for adoption. Applied to the institution of punishment, …


The Disadvantages Of Immigration Restriction As A Policy To Improve Income Distribution, Howard F. Chang Jan 2008

The Disadvantages Of Immigration Restriction As A Policy To Improve Income Distribution, Howard F. Chang

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In this Article, I argue that tax and transfer policies are more efficient than immigration restrictions as instruments for raising the after tax incomes of the least skilled native workers. Policies to protect these native workers frol1'l immigrant competition in the labor market do no better at promoting distributive justice and are likely to impose a greater economic burden on natives in the country of immigration than the tax alternative. These immigration restrictions are especially costly given the disproportionate burden that they place on households with working women, which discourages fel1'wle participation in the labor force. This burden runs contrary …


A Contractarian Argument Against The Death Penalty, Claire Oakes Finkelstein Oct 2006

A Contractarian Argument Against The Death Penalty, Claire Oakes Finkelstein

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Opponents of the death penalty typically base their opposition on contingent features of its administration, arguing that the death penalty is applied discriminatory, that the innocent are sometimes executed, or that there is insufficient evidence of the death penalty’s deterrent efficacy. Implicit in these arguments is the suggestion that if these contingencies did not obtain, serious moral objections to the death penalty would be misplaced. In this Article, Professor Finkelstein argues that there are grounds for opposing the death penalty even in the absence of such contingent factors. She proceeds by arguing that neither of the two prevailing theories of …


Torture Lite, Full-Bodied Torture, And The Insulation Of Legal Conscience, Seth F. Kreimer Jan 2005

Torture Lite, Full-Bodied Torture, And The Insulation Of Legal Conscience, Seth F. Kreimer

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No abstract provided.


Truth Machines And Consequences: The Light And Dark Sides Of 'Accuracy' In Criminal Justice, Seth F. Kreimer Jan 2005

Truth Machines And Consequences: The Light And Dark Sides Of 'Accuracy' In Criminal Justice, Seth F. Kreimer

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No abstract provided.


Human Rights, Civil Wrongs And Foreign Relations: A "Sinical" Look At The Use Of U.S. Litigation To Address Human Rights Abuses Abroad, Jacques Delisle Jan 2002

Human Rights, Civil Wrongs And Foreign Relations: A "Sinical" Look At The Use Of U.S. Litigation To Address Human Rights Abuses Abroad, Jacques Delisle

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No abstract provided.


Excuses And Dispositions In Criminal Law, Claire Oakes Finkelstein Jan 2002

Excuses And Dispositions In Criminal Law, Claire Oakes Finkelstein

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No abstract provided.


Conflicting Rights And The Outbreak Of The First World War, Leo Katz Jan 2001

Conflicting Rights And The Outbreak Of The First World War, Leo Katz

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No abstract provided.


A Liberal Theory Of Social Welfare: Fairness, Utility, And The Pareto Principle, Howard F. Chang Jan 2000

A Liberal Theory Of Social Welfare: Fairness, Utility, And The Pareto Principle, Howard F. Chang

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No abstract provided.


The Possibility Of A Fair Paretian, Howard F. Chang Jan 2000

The Possibility Of A Fair Paretian, Howard F. Chang

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No abstract provided.


Hart's Methodological Positivism, Stephen R. Perry Jan 1998

Hart's Methodological Positivism, Stephen R. Perry

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No abstract provided.


Immigration Policy, Liberal Principles, And The Republican Tradition, Howard F. Chang Jan 1997

Immigration Policy, Liberal Principles, And The Republican Tradition, Howard F. Chang

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No abstract provided.


Self-Defense As A Rational Excuse, Claire Oakes Finkelstein Jan 1996

Self-Defense As A Rational Excuse, Claire Oakes Finkelstein

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No abstract provided.