Self-study
A just government never restricts the right of its citizens to act upon their desires except when their acting upon their desires is a direct threat to the health or property of other of its citizens.
Summary
If citizens’ acting upon their desire is NOT a direct threat to the health/property of other citizens → a just government does NOT restrict the right of its citizens to act upon that desire
Find or Complete the Application
We’re looking for a judgment conforms to the principle. So we’re looking for a situation where citizens’ acting upon their desires is NOT a direct threat to the health/property of others, and hence a just government does NOT restrict the right of its citizens to act upon that desire. The correct answer might also involve a situation in which acting upon a desire does present a direct threat to health/property of others, and the government might be able to restrict in that case.
3.
Which one of the following █████████ ████ ███████ ████████ ██ ███ █████████ █████ ██████
a
A just government █████ ███ ███ ███ ████ ██ ██████ █████ ███ ██ █████ ████████ ████████████ ██████ ██ ████ ██ ██████ █████████
It’s reasonable to think unrestricted racing of sports cars on public highways directly threatens other people. So, it makes sense that the government might be able to restrict this. But merely owning a sports care doesn’t present a direct threat, so a just government wouldn’t ban the sale of sports cars.
b
An unjust government █████ ███████ ████ ██████ ████████ ██ █████ ████████ ███ ███ ███████ ██████████ ██████
The principle tells us what a just government does. But it doesn’t tell us what an unjust government does. We don’t know if an unjust government would abolish any activities based on the principle in the stimulus.
c
A just government █████ ███████ █████████ █████ ██ █████████ ██ ███████████ █████████ ███ ███ ██ █████████ ██ █████████ █████
We know what a just government would not restrict. But (C) doesn’t concern what a just government would restrict. We don’t know to whom a just government would provide money.
d
A just government █████ ███ ██████ ████████ ██ ████████████ ███ ██ █████ ██████ █████████ ███ ██████ ████ █████████ ███ ███████████
We can’t conclude that a just government would censor magazines/movies that criticize the government, because we have no reason to think that such criticism presents a direct threat to other citizens.
e
An unjust government █████ ███████████ ███ ██ ███ ████████ ████ ██████ ██ ███ ████ ███████ █████ █████ ████ ███████ ██████ ████████
The principle tells us what a just government does. But it doesn’t tell us what an unjust government does. We don’t know who an unjust government would incarcerate.