POLSC401 Study Guide

Unit 3: Individual Liberty, Public Safety, and Justice

3a. Identify ethical dilemmas that policymakers may face in dealing with issues of individual liberty

  • Name three examples where judges may face a dilemma when interpreting the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.
  • Name some ways that the Second Amendment is controversial from a public safety standpoint.
  • Describe an ethical dilemma policymakers face regarding illegal drug use.
  • Describe an ethical dilemma policymakers face regarding illegal immigration.
  • Describe some ethical shortcomings in how the American criminal justice system functions?

Individual liberty is the highest aim of the human rights approach to ethics and provides the dominant ethical framework for most of today's western democracies. While this approach provides people with a great deal of freedom, it also presents challenges when one person's rights infringe on the rights of another.

For example, should you use your right to freedom of speech to instill fear in another person, discriminate, jeopardize a business, or disrespect the American flag? Likewise, do you have the right to promote certain religious beliefs in a way that conflicts with another person's right to equal treatment? The examples are endless. Having a rights-based society requires finding ways to navigate these difficult questions.

Review the following readings which discuss the individual rights mentioned above in detail.


3b. Identify ethical dilemmas that policymakers may face in dealing with issues of public safety

  • Explain how the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution presents a dilemma between individual rights and concerns for public safety.
  • Should governments have the authority to restrict an individual's right to use certain drugs in their home if they do not infringe on anyone else's rights?
  • Should governments have the authority to incarcerate drug dealers to promote public safety?
  • Should governments have the authority to incarcerate individuals who enter the United States illegally, to promote public safety? What if data shows immigrants do not pose a risk to public safety?
  • Are juveniles responsible for their crimes? Should the government have the authority to incarcerate juveniles or abrogate their personal freedoms, to promote public safety? 
  • How about the death penalty? Should the government have the authority to execute individuals (abrogating their ultimate right–to live) for purposes of retribution or to deter crime?

Sometimes the right an individual has to act in a certain way conflicts with public safety. In these cases, many policymakers feel they have the right to abrogate individual liberties to protect the public well-being. But does the punishment fit the crime or justify taking away the perpetrator's rights, is it simple retribution to make the victim feel better, or will it prevent future crimes?

For example, is the personal, private use of marijuana a public safety issue? Does it matter if the personal, private use is for medical or recreational purposes? Does your ethical calculus change when we talk about the public use of marijuana, such as smoking in a public park? Think about how one person's rights may infringe on the rights of others. Does your ethical calculus change when we talk about distributing or selling marijuana to others? Why why not?

From a practical perspective, let's talk about the effectiveness of your solution. What if criminalizing the activity is not effective, or it exacerbates or creates more dangerous societal problems, such as drug trafficking and drug cartels.

Does your ethical perspective change based on the practical results of your ethical calculation? For example, for years governments trusted large U.S. pharmaceutical companies to market and distribute opioids in an ethical manner to patients and doctors. These companies were allowed to freely and legally market their prescription drugs to Americans to communities that now struggle with a costly, deadly, and widespread opioid addiction crisis. Did those who worked at these companies operate ethically? Should the government punish U.S. pharmaceutical companies in the same way they have punished illegal drug dealers who were incarcerated for distributing marijuana, cocaine, and heroin? Both sellers were out to make money.

Try asking similar questions for the other issues below: gun control, illegal immigration, the death penalty, and juvenile sentencing. In U.S. legal terms, a juvenile is someone who is younger than 18 years old.

Review the video Five Ways to Think Ethically and follow up article A Framework for Ethical Decision Making from Santa Clara University.

Review the following readings which discuss these ethicals dilemmas in detail.


3c. Analyze how ethical dilemmas involving issues of individual liberty or public safety may be resolved under various ethical decision-making frameworks

  • How would a virtue ethicist respond to the issue of illegal immigration?
  • What does utilitarianism have to say regarding drug legalization? 
  • Would a policymaker focused on the rights approach to ethics want felons to vote?
  • How would the common good approach change the First or Second Amendments?

Applying the various ethical frameworks to particular issues of public policy is the fundamental work of government officials. Since these questions often involve balancing multiple interests (what is considered good for one person, group, or the entire population) policymakers use their own ethical frameworks to make their judgements.

A policymaker who is a follower of virtue ethics will focus on acting in a way that is right and just, in a way that promotes their concept of the right thing to do. For example, they will choose the option that resembles their society's ideal representation of courage, justice, temperance, and wisdom.

A policymaker who is a follower of utilitarianism will choose the path that benefits the greatest number of people and promotes the most happiness. They will choose the option where the majority will benefit. 

The policymaker who follows a fairness approach wants to ensure recipients are treated fairly, regardless of whether they are in the majority. They will choose the option where members of the entire community benefit in some way, not simply the majority.

Review the video Five Ways to Think Ethically and follow up article A Framework for Ethical Decision Making from Santa Clara University.

Review these articles on the five ethical frameworks: Ethics and Virtue (virtue ethics), Rights (deontology), Calculating Consequences: The Utilitarian Approach to Ethics (utilitarianism), The Common Good (the common good or communitarianism), and Justice and Fairness (justice as fairness approach), by Manuel Velasquez, Claire Andre, Thomas Shanks, S.J. and Michael J. Meyer.

Review the appropriate resources listed in Unit 2 to help think about how different ethical framework approaches would approach particular questions of public policy.


Unit 3 Vocabulary

  • Drug legalization
  • Ethical dilemma
  • Felon voting
  • First Amendment
  • Free speech
  • Gun control
  • Illegal immigration
  • Juvenile
  • Juvenile sentencing
  • Second Amendment
  • Texas v. Johnson