Justice in a non-ideal world: the case of climate change

Ideal theory faces a paradox. The ‘capacity of guidance’ is an important feature of most normative theories, but ideal principles of justice are not well suited to guide action in non-ideal circumstances. This charge presses us to seek plausible avenues to connect ideal values with the non-ideal realisation of justice. The objective of this paper is to introduce an analytical framework and present a case study in support of what I call the ‘reflective integration thesis’. The thesis states that: if we wish to formulate principles of justice that can guide action in non-ideal circumstances, we need to integrate ideal and non-ideal theory, and the way to integrate ideal and non-ideal theory is by seeking reflective equilibrium between these levels. Taking climate justice as a model, this paper will explore the features of a non-ideal theory of justice, thereby providing insights about the structure of an action-guiding theory. It will show that, in order to guide action, our ideal principles of climate justice need to be reformulated in the light of real-world considerations, which we only obtain by integrating the relevant empirical work on the matter.     

Finnish parties’ positions in 2007: A matter of equilibrium or voters’ projection?

According to the Finnish National Election Studies (FNES) the positions of Finnish parties in the years 2003 and 2007 were almost identical. In FNES, party placement is based on the voters’ perceptions and therefore it is assumed that either the voters have correctly guessed the positions of the parties or they have been wrong in their judgments. In the first case, the Finnish parties are likely to have reached a state of equilibrium where no party has an incentive for unilaterally changing its optimal position. On the other hand, if the voters are incorrect, it is likely that they have projected their own positions to the parties. The results reject the equilibrium hypothesis and confirm the projection hypothesis.     

动态均衡视角下的政策变迁规律研究

公共政策在其动态运行过程中,政策变迁是一个自然的过程环节。所谓政策变迁是指不同政策间的替代与转换过程①。这一过程是否遵循某种一般性规律,理论界对此一直缺乏必要的研究探讨。从动态均衡的视角看来,可以将政策变迁过程分为政策失衡、政策创新、政策均衡3个阶段。其中,政策失衡指的是愿意改变既定政策的政策参与者的集合力量,超过愿意维持既定政策的政策参与者的力量集合时的一种状态;而政策均衡则表示与之相反的一种状态。政策创新是指由旧政策到新政策的实质性转换过程。通过这3个环节,拟揭示出政策变迁过程中政策从原有均衡状态演变为失衡状态,再通过创新变革向新的均衡状态转变这一规律。     

论中日关系的历史与未来

影响中日关系的实质性问题并不是复交与否,而在于日本自明治维新以来,一直怀抱大国之梦,与中国有着深层次的分歧。在热战时代,两国是侵略和被侵略的关系,水火不容;在冷战时代,演变成了两个阵营的对立;冷战结束之后,综合国力趋近,而国家利益趋远。只有强强共处才能够确保中日关系的平稳发展。     

关于司法独立与新闻监督问题的几点思考

本文通过对司法独立与新闻监督的再认识及其存在问题的论述 ,探讨了新闻监督与司法独立的平衡点 ,以期两大价值理念都能得到充分的实现。     

Imprisonment and unemployment: A comment

The current state of research dealing with the relationship between the unemployment rate and the imprisonment rate is assessed, and directions for further research are suggested.     

民事行为能力制度与交易安全的民法保护

当交易行为所表彰的行为能力状态与行为能力的真实状态不一致时,无行为能力人、限制行为能力人的利益与善意相对人的利益便存在相互冲突的竞存关系.本文以民法权利外观理论为基点,论证了行为能力制度采行静态安全优位保护立场的正当性,阐述了行为能力制度中静态安全与动态安全兼容并济的利益衡平机制,并在此基础上对我国未来民法典中相关制度的完善提出了立法构想.