RAWLS

For Rawls, what is the basic subject of justice? What are the major social

institutions? (Section 2)

“To be regarded as providing in the first instance a standard whereby the distributive aspects of the basic structure of society are to be assessed.”

• the basic structure of society, i.e. the “way in which the major social

institutions distribute fundamental rights and duties and determine the advantages from social cooperation.”

• Institutions: systems that make up the basic structure are the political consitutions, legals system of trials, property, and contracts: system of markets, regulation of economic relations, and the family. 

Diffencence principle

principle eliminates the indeterminateness of the principle of efficiency by singling out a position from which to judge the basic structure. Inequalities in wealth and income are only allowed to the extent that they improve the expectations of the least advantaged.

Rawls situates his theory of justice within the social contract tradition in political philosophy. Explain. What are the similarities and differences between his approach and that of the major social contract thinkers? (Section 3

The goal of Rawls’ state of nature is to show justice as fairness

Unlike the others who want to show the state of nature and how humans could have evolved and therefore its sconsequences.

“t is understood as a purely hypothetical situation characterized so as to lead to a certain conception of justice. “

What does Rawls intend to convey by the expression "justice as fairness"?

(Section 3)

“symmetry of every one's relations to each other, this initial situation is fair between individuals as moral persons, that is, as rational beings with their own ends and capable, I shall assume, of a sense of justice. “

• A fair original position

• two principles of justice

What is the original position? What role does it have in justifying principles

of justice? (Section 4)

• Original postion: Rawls situated parties behind a veil of ignorance, where they have no knowledge of facts about themselves or their circumstances.

• If you know nothing about yourself, position in sosciety, identity, etc. You would be assumed to choose the fairest option.

  • This is through the veil of ignorance which commands a strict impartialisty. 

What is reflective equilibrium? (Section 4

The process of mutual adjustment of principles and considered judgment

• To know what is the most favored original position after the veil, there needs to be a continuous adjustment

  • More specifically by modifying the account of the initial situation or we can revise our existing judgments, for even the judgments we take provisionally as fixed points are liable to revision.

What are the main features of classical utilitarianism as defined by Rawls?

(Section 5)

• A just society is the one that produces the greatest total happiness.

• It treats society like one big individual whose total satisfaction matters most.

• Who gains or loses doesn’t matter—only the total sum.

• Individual rights can be overridden if doing so increases overall happiness.

What are Rawls' two principles of justice? Rawls says that his two principles

are a ‘special case’ of a more general conception of justice. Explain what he means by this. (Section 11

• P1: each person is to have an equal right to the most extensive basic liberties compatible with a similar liberty for others

• P2: social and economic inequalities are to be arranged so that they are both (a) reasonable expected to be to everyone’s advantage, and (b) attached to positions and offices open to all.

  • Difference principle: regulates inequality in primary social goods. It requires that social and economic institutions be arranged so ass to distribute income and wealth, and powers and psotions of office so as to maximise the least advantaged members of society 

Rawls says that his two principles of justice are "serially ordered." What

does this mean? What is the rationale for this ordering? (Section 11)

serially ordered means that P1 must go before p2

• he states that before established how society is goign to evolve economically, there needs to be established rights and liberties.

• people need

Rawls says that two expressions in the second principle are ambiguous, viz.,

"everyone's advantage" and "equally open to all". What are the possible meanings of these expressions? (Section 12)

System of natural liberty: principle of efficiency with the principle of careers open to talents. 

Liberal interpretation: distinguishes between formal equality of opportunity and fair equal opportunity. A just society should avoid extreme social divisions with respect to the accumulation of wealth and should strive for equal educational opportunity for all

Democratic Interpretation: Inequalities in wealth and income are only allowed to the extent that they improve the expectations of the least advantaged

Why does Rawls believe that the system of natural liberty is unjust?

(Section 12

According to Rawls, the main problem with the system of natural liberty is that it allows distributions to be affected by social and natural contingencies—e.g. prior distributions of wealth and talent—factors that are arbitrary from a moral point of view

In what ways does the liberal interpretation of the second principle correct

for the defects of natural liberty? Why is the liberal conception still defective in

Rawls' view? (Section 12

Adds the requirement that people with similar abilities, skills, and talents should have similar life prospects. The social contingency of being born into a lower social or economic class shouldn't affect an individual’s life chances. The free market must operate within a legal and political framework that regulates overall trends and preserves the social conditions necessary for equality of opportunity.

Defect:

• Rawls doesn’t believe that the liberal interpretation goes far enough in the direction of equality or in neutralizing the unequal consequences of natural contingencies and undeserved misfortune outside of agents’ control. More specifically, it allows distributive shares to be determined by what he calls the natural lottery.

What is the democratic interpretation of the second principle? What's the

difference principle? (Section 13

Difference principle: regulates inequality in primary social goods. It requires that social and economic institutions be arranged so ass to distribute income and wealth, and powers and psotions of office so as to maximise the least advantaged members of society 

What are primary goods? What role do they have in Rawls’ theory?

These primary goods are rights and liberties, powers and opportunities, wealth and income, and the bases of self- respect. These rationally desired primary goods provide content to possible principles of justice and make a rational choice from the original position decidable

No one deserves his greater natural capacity nor merits a more favorable

starting place in society. But, of course, this is no reason to ignore, much less to

eliminate these distinctions. Instead, the basic structure can be arranged so that

these contingencies work for the good of the least fortunate. Thus we are led to

the difference principle if we wish to set up the social system so that no one gains

or loses from his arbitrary place in the distribution of natural assets or his initial

position in society.... (Section 17)

Explain and critically assess Rawls’ reasoning in this passage

Rawls contends that the difference principle expresses a conception of

reciprocity. What is his argument for this claim? (Section 17)

• Mutual advantage should be prioritized because of presupposing a specific social schematic is nonsensible. Certain social standing are pure luck. On the other hand rights are for everyone therefore the difference principal supports this

He also links the difference principle to the ideal of fraternity. Explain his

thinking. (Section 17)

Fraternity: holds to represnet a certain equality of social esteem manifieted in various public conventions and in the absence of manners of deference and servility. As well a sense civic freindship and solidarity

He connects fraternity and difference by stating that “namley to the idea of not wanting to have greater advantages unless this is to the benefit of others who are well off. “

• he admits that this is ideal in nature but plausible because of fraternity’s core

Rawls says that "...principles of justice are chosen behind a veil of

ignorance." What does this mean? What is the rationale for the veil of ignorance?

(Section 24)

People dont know what social position they occupy, what talents and

abilities they possess, nor do they know their conception of the good.

• Rawls states that he must nullify social contingencies. In other words put men on an equal playing field to remove any advantages.

What do individuals know in the original position?

for a rational choice to be feasible the parties must know certain general facts about themselves and their situation. They know that they occupy the circumstances of justice, i.e., that they have an interest in settling on principles of justice and that they are capable of doing so. Moreover, they are rational in an instrumental sense and although they don’t know their specific conception of the good, they do know that there are certain all-purpose primary goods that it is rational for them to seek whatever their specific conception of the good turns out to be.

What conception of rationality does Rawls attribute to the parties in the

original position

1. They choose the best means to achieve their goals.

2. They do not care about others’ good directly, only about securing the best life for themselves.
   However, they are not malicious or competitive — they simply want the most advantage for themselves.

3. Veil of ignorance

4. Their reasoning is strategic, not based on sympathy or moral duty.

Rawls claims that his two principles of justice can be viewed as the

‘maximin solution’ to the problem of social justice. Explain. (Section 26)

Maximum rule: ranks possible alternatives according to the worst outcomes, and choose the alternative in which the worst outcome is better or superior to others.

• It is much more important to ensure that one has a satisfactory minimum than it is to gain more than the minimum.

What are the strains of commitment? (Section 29

refer to the psychological and practical difficulties that prevent people from abiding by principles of justice

• 1: Two

• 2:

Rawls believes that the parties in the original position would reject the

principle of utility. Is Rawls’ reasoning for this claim convincing? (Section 29)

fails to protect individuals from potentially severe harm and ignores the distinction between persons

• When the principal of utility is satisfied, a person doesn’t know if they will benefit.