Amartya Sen: The Flute Dilemma - Three kids one flute

[Bixnood]

An excerpt from the 2009 book - The Idea of Justice:

"At the heart of the particular problem of a unique impartial resolution of the perfectly just society is the possible sustainability of more than one reasoned conviction about the nature of justice which survives impartial scrutiny. To illustrate the problem, let us consider three children and a flute about which they are quarrelling.

Anne claims the flute on the ground that she is the only one of the three who knows how to play it (the others do not deny this), and that it would be quite unjust to deny the flute to the only person who can actually play it.

Bob strikes in, and offers the argument that he is the only one of the three who is so poor that he has no toys of his own. The flute would give him something to play with (the others admit that they are much richer and have a variety of entertainment).

Carla points out that she has been working quite hard for many months to make the flute with her own labour (the others confirm this), and just when she had finished her work, ‘just then’, she complains, ‘these expropriators came along to try to seize the flute from me’.

Having heard all three and their different reasons, to whom would you give the flute?"

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[HeyYou]

Who would genuinely pick anyone but Carla?

 

[Fascist Frederick]

"...she complains, ‘these expropriators came along to try to seize the flute from me’."

Wow they really nailed the dialogue of children. Reminds me of how we all used to talk on the playground growing up.

 

[DumbDude43]

carla obviously because it's her rightful property
if anne wants to play it she can ask carla to borrow it, or buy it, or trade it for some of her own toys
bob can fuck off entirely, entitled little cunt

 

[grump]

Carla. If Carla dies from the sniffles leaving no reasonable method to pass on her property and Anna picks it up and turns it into a world class pipe organ George does not get to claim the pipe organ 200 years later it just because his ancestors were geographically closer to Carla when she expired.

 

[wtfNeedSignUp]

Who would genuinely pick anyone but Carla?

Pretty much. Even if you ignore the fact she legally owns it, Anne's argument is that only people capable of something should have access to it, which just perpetuates the situation. Meanwhile Bob argument is that he deserves other's labour for the fact he exists.

 

[Bixnood]

I cannot understand why anyone would pick anyone on Carla.
unless she was commissioned to make it or had sold it or traded it then its hers.
A friend of my wife once years ago said that she though Anne should get it as a flute is not an instrument if no-one can play it. utterly retarded take