Racial critiques of Rawls

Elizabeth Anderson

Fully rejects Rawls’ approach because it promotes ideal norms (colour-blindness) under non-ideal conditions, which require race-specific policies, not universal ones.

Argues that the original position prohibits the recognition of historical injustice.

Tommie Shelby

Rawls’ approach can be used as-is

Uses Rawls' fair equality of opportunity principle to address racial injustice.

• The history of racial violence and domination can explain the wealth difference between whites and blacks in the US.

Charles Mills

A radical revision of Rawls’ approach is necessary

Argues that Rawls didn’t apply the Fair Equality of Opportunity principle to race

Argues that Rawls’ principles are aimed at an ideal society → In an ordered society, structural racial subordination would not exist and neither its legacy.

Ideal theory

How white politicians exclude race/racial justice → A perfect just society would be raceless

Racial Liberalism (Charles Mills)

Equality for white men and the inferior treatment of POCs wasn’t seen as unreasonable with the liberal norms because these norms argued that POCs were less; racism not an anomaly, but it was built in.

Mills’ Claims about social contract theory

1. Proponents held racist attitudes which poisoned the intellectual framework.

2. Embodies racist assumptions so theories overlook racial domination.

3. Embodies ‘whiteness’ → A dominant racial group enjoying privileges.

4. Obscures racist practices, making them invisible → Power over non-white

5. Acknowledges racist practices but sees them as failures to fulfil moral duties, not as structurally oppressive. 

Dominant Contract

The existing social contract that was made within white people to see themselves as morally superior to create systems that benefit them → captures the realities of current states

Domination contract

A contract where the parties don’t know their racial identities, but they do know their society’s history of racial exploitation → Parties will agree to racial reparations as corrective justice

What Mills thinks we would all agree to

1. To end racially unequal citizenship

2. End racial exploitation

3. End racial disrespect