PYQ Vault · Paper 1 · Justice

Examine communitarian perspectives on justice.

How the answer moves

The flow snapshot — the routes in, the body, the counter-view and the routes out.

Flow snapshot — how the answer moves
Intro routes
Rr! reject liberal abstract self → justice from the situated self → good over right R2 liberalism = individual + right prior → communitarian turn = community + good prior → justice must be socially grounded
Body flow
Sandel: self constituted by ends, "wholly without character," identity discovered in community → MacIntyre: virtues / obligations within traditions, no society-less morality, justice needs social conception of good → Walzer: positive account, goods carry social meanings, complex equality (no sphere dominates another)
Counter-view
corrective real (identity social, state not neutral) vs community norms preserve hierarchy / patriarchy / caste; recognition must still answer liberty + equality (Shah Bano)
Conclusion routes
rR! communitarianism restores culture + common good to justice R2 defensible justice holds community + individual freedom together, neither silencing the other

Model answer

Handwritten, in the form it would be written in the examination hall.

Handwritten model answer — UPSC PSIR 2019, Justice