Politics, Ethics & Society (DP IB Theory of Knowledge): Revision Note

Politics, ethics & society

• Political decisions will always benefit some people and disadvantage others, so people often disagree about what is fair, what rights should be protected and what counts as ethical behaviour in politics

Distributive justice

• Distributive justice is about how benefits and burdens in society should be shared

  • E.g. a government raises taxes to fund free healthcare, so higher earners pay more (a burden) while everyone gains access to treatment without direct cost (a benefit)

• People disagree about distributive justice because they have different opinions on why some are high earners and others are low earners

  • If people think differences are mainly due to choices or effort, inequality can seem more acceptable

  • If people think differences are mainly due to unfair starting points or barriers, inequality can seem less acceptable

• Those who believe that inequality is not acceptable are more likely to support redistribution of wealth in the form of taxes and benefits

Human rights claims

• Human rights claims argue that certain freedoms and protections should apply to all people

• These claims can shape laws and policies by setting limits on what governments can do

• Disagreements arise over which rights matter most when the rights of individuals conflict with each other

  • E.g. a government defends surveillance as protecting security rights, while critics argue it violates privacy rights

Ownership of information

• Ownership of information is about who controls knowledge; this affects who can:

  • access information

  • copy and share content

  • use information for profit

• Intellectual property is the main legal system used to create ownership rights over information

  • Examples include patents for inventions and copyright for writing, music and images

• Supporters argue that these rights reward creators and encourage innovation by protecting work from copying without permission

• Critics argue that strong intellectual property rules can restrict access, slow collaboration and widen inequality

  • E.g. if a medicine is protected by a patent, then cheaper versions cannot be sold by alternative manufacturers, limiting access for people who cannot afford the original price

Ethical political communication

• Ethical political communication involves sharing information in ways that respect truth, fairness and public understanding

  • It includes avoiding manipulation, misleading statistics and deliberate omission of key context

• Ethical communication supports trust because it allows people to evaluate claims using evidence

• With the rise of technological tools,a user’s data can be analysed to make predictions or conclusions about their beliefs, concerns or interests, and this can then be used to send them persuasive content that may influence how they vote or think politically