ASSESSMENT 04:
FAIR'S FAIR
So, in assessment 2, we reflected on a particular case involving great wealth
- Bob van Dijk and his R 1.9 billion payout in 2018/2019. In assessment 3, we
reflected on very severe poverty and abuse in the supply chain of a global
commodity - cobalt.
In this assessment we are going to think about the possibility that these two
issues - great wealth and great poverty might be linked by focusing on the
proposal in Assessment 1 that:
“Why do some people have to be miserably poor in order that
others can be extravagantly rich? I speak for all the children in
the world who don't even have a piece of bread.” (Fidel Castro)
To make this possibility really come alive though, we want you to consider
two of the questions in assessment 1 together:
"Of the top 10 wealthiest people (all men), seven are tech
billionaires. Their net worth is US$ 847 billion or ZAR 13 trillion"
AND
"60% of the world's cobalt is mined in the DRC. Significant
amounts of this is mined under appalling conditions, often by
child labourers."
Why is this important?
Well because of these:
You see:
whether it's Elon Musk and his high tech electric cars or Mark
Zuckeberg and his Meta,
whether it is Jeff Bezos and Amazon, or Bill Gate's Microsoft,
ALL of the wealth of these tech billionaires is based fundamentally on lithium
cobalt batteries.
No cobalt, no lithium cobalt batteries. No lithium cobalt batteries, no tech
billionaires. No child labour, a lot less cheap cobalt available for these
batteries. These two scenarios are intimately linked.
, So it seems that in this case, "the extravagant wealth of a few depends of the
awful miserable poverty of many".
To me this poses an obvious question:
IS THIS OK?
And this is what we are going to discuss in this assessment!
INSTRUCTIONS:
Step 0: Do assessment 1
If you haven't already done it, please go to the AT A CROSSROAD section and
do Assessment 1 now.
YOU MAY GET 0 (ZERO) FOR THIS ASSESSMENT IF YOU HAVE NOT
SUBMITTED YOUR ASSESSMENT 1.
Step 1: Answer the question "Is this ok?"
In the discussion forum below, write an answer to the question posed
above: "Is this ok?".
Your answer must contain the following sections:
1.
1. An analysis of the inequalities described above (child labour and tech
billionaires) using ALL of John Rawls' principles in their correct
order (remember that the order is very important);
2. An thorough analysis of the inequality described using John Rawls' veil
of ignorance;
3. Your opinion on the inequality described; and
4. Your explanation of why you hold this opinion
From your answers to 1 and 2, we must be left in no doubt that you have
actually understood the concepts. This means that you will need to apply the
concepts to the scenario. Just defining them won't cut it! If we cannot see this
understanding you will not pass this assessment.
Step 2: Comment on other students' submissions
That's what you have to do. But as usual, you might also feel obliged to
comment on other people's contributions. Great stuff!!
And remember that we can give extra marks for gripping discussion.
Assignment 04
1. An analysis of the inequalities described using ALL of John Rawl's principles in their
correct order
FAIR'S FAIR
So, in assessment 2, we reflected on a particular case involving great wealth
- Bob van Dijk and his R 1.9 billion payout in 2018/2019. In assessment 3, we
reflected on very severe poverty and abuse in the supply chain of a global
commodity - cobalt.
In this assessment we are going to think about the possibility that these two
issues - great wealth and great poverty might be linked by focusing on the
proposal in Assessment 1 that:
“Why do some people have to be miserably poor in order that
others can be extravagantly rich? I speak for all the children in
the world who don't even have a piece of bread.” (Fidel Castro)
To make this possibility really come alive though, we want you to consider
two of the questions in assessment 1 together:
"Of the top 10 wealthiest people (all men), seven are tech
billionaires. Their net worth is US$ 847 billion or ZAR 13 trillion"
AND
"60% of the world's cobalt is mined in the DRC. Significant
amounts of this is mined under appalling conditions, often by
child labourers."
Why is this important?
Well because of these:
You see:
whether it's Elon Musk and his high tech electric cars or Mark
Zuckeberg and his Meta,
whether it is Jeff Bezos and Amazon, or Bill Gate's Microsoft,
ALL of the wealth of these tech billionaires is based fundamentally on lithium
cobalt batteries.
No cobalt, no lithium cobalt batteries. No lithium cobalt batteries, no tech
billionaires. No child labour, a lot less cheap cobalt available for these
batteries. These two scenarios are intimately linked.
, So it seems that in this case, "the extravagant wealth of a few depends of the
awful miserable poverty of many".
To me this poses an obvious question:
IS THIS OK?
And this is what we are going to discuss in this assessment!
INSTRUCTIONS:
Step 0: Do assessment 1
If you haven't already done it, please go to the AT A CROSSROAD section and
do Assessment 1 now.
YOU MAY GET 0 (ZERO) FOR THIS ASSESSMENT IF YOU HAVE NOT
SUBMITTED YOUR ASSESSMENT 1.
Step 1: Answer the question "Is this ok?"
In the discussion forum below, write an answer to the question posed
above: "Is this ok?".
Your answer must contain the following sections:
1.
1. An analysis of the inequalities described above (child labour and tech
billionaires) using ALL of John Rawls' principles in their correct
order (remember that the order is very important);
2. An thorough analysis of the inequality described using John Rawls' veil
of ignorance;
3. Your opinion on the inequality described; and
4. Your explanation of why you hold this opinion
From your answers to 1 and 2, we must be left in no doubt that you have
actually understood the concepts. This means that you will need to apply the
concepts to the scenario. Just defining them won't cut it! If we cannot see this
understanding you will not pass this assessment.
Step 2: Comment on other students' submissions
That's what you have to do. But as usual, you might also feel obliged to
comment on other people's contributions. Great stuff!!
And remember that we can give extra marks for gripping discussion.
Assignment 04
1. An analysis of the inequalities described using ALL of John Rawl's principles in their
correct order
