John Rawls’ Theory of Justice
John Rawls
→ moral contractarian
→ his theory of justice is in itself a kind of social contract
→ theory of justice explains why social inequalities are unjust and defines a just society.
→ theory is a combination of ethics and politics.
Rawls' Theory of Justice
Rawls addresses the problem of distributive justice.
A just society conforms to normative rules agreed upon by everyone.
The fundamental principle is that every individual is inviolable.
Rights secured by justice cannot be overridden by political bargaining or social interest.
Life should not be sacrificed for the sake of the majority.
Suppression of people’s right to speech for the sake of economic growth is morally wrong.
An erroneous theory is tolerable in the absence of a good one.
Unjust law is better than no law at all.
Act Injustice is tolerable if necessary to avoid a greater act of injustice.
Example: incapacitating or killing a serial killer to protect innocent people.
Individual liberties should be restricted to maintain equality of opportunity.
restrictions through law preserves freedom in democracy
Example: restricting land ownership to ensure equal chances for others.
2 Principles of Justice in "A Theory of Justice."
expressions of what Rawls’ called as “Justice as Fairness'“
1st: The Equal Liberty Principle
Emphasizes equal access to basic human needs, rights, and liberties.
Guarantees the right of each person to have extensive basic liberty compatible with the liberty of others
Examples: right to life, vote, speech, and peaceable assembly.
2nd: The Difference Principle
Emphasizes fair equality of opportunity and equal distribution of socio-economic inequalities.
Social and economic positions should benefit everyone and be open to all.
Veil of Ignorance and Original Position
Rawls' notions of the veil of ignorance and the original position are crucial to realizing his theory of justice.
“Veils of ignorance” which all players in the social game would be placed in a hypothetical situation called the “original position”
In the original position, individuals are placed behind the veil of ignorance.
They do not know their sex, race, abilities, social status, etc.
Biases and preconceptions are set aside.
Edmund Husseri’s Epoch or Phenomological Reduction
→ the individuals in the original position sets aside her biases towards and preconceptions about anything
Each individual in the original position makes a rational prudential choice regarding the social institution they would contract with.
Rawls recommends adopting a generalized moral point of view in the veil of ignorance.
If everyone in the original position promotes equality, justice as fairness is achieved.
Injustice prevails if inequality is upheld.
Achieving Justice as Fairness
Justice as fairness is achieved through the original position and the veil of ignorance.
In the original position, individuals agree on specific social rules and institutions.
In the veil of ignorance, individuals choose the just basic structure of society.
Rawls believes that rational individuals, detached from their concrete identity, will create a truly just society.
The veil of ignorance allows individuals to identify universal beliefs about how society should be organized