Difference between revisions of "John Rawls"

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'''John Rawls''' (1921-2002) was an American [[philosopher]], whose writings are considered as some of the most important in 20th century political philosophy.
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He is famous for his book "A Theory of Justice", in which he attempted to offer a solution to the problem of distributive justice while supporting both liberty and equality.
 
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== A Theory of Justice ==
 
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Rawls is in the tradition of social contract theorists such as [[Thomas Hobbes]], [[John Locke]] and [[Immanuel Kant]].  Such theorists proposed that the foundation of justice are from agreements to form and sustain a society made by people in an actual or hypothetical "State of Nature". Rawls used a related thought experiment involving an "original position" serving the purpose of the State of Nature in those earlier philosophies. In this original position, all people are behind a veil of ignorance that prevents them from knowing basic facts about themselves - such as their physical strength, intelligence, class, race, gender, circumstances, religion and conception of what is of value in life. This means that the agreements made that form the social contract will be fair: for example the strong will be in no better position to negotiate than the weak. Furthermore, no group will be discriminated against and no group given special treatment. No rational person behind the veil of ignorance will agree that "the weak should be slaves to the strong", or that a particular faith will be promoted because it may turn out that they are weak or a member of another faith. Therefore the rights granted by the agreements will apply to everybody, or as Rawls puts his First Principle "each person is to have an equal right to the most extensive scheme of equal basic liberties compatible with a similar scheme of liberties for others."<ref>Rawls, John. A Theory of Justice p.53</ref>
 
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As part of his Second Principle Rawls goes on to suggest the "Difference Principle", which states that inequalities should benefit the least-advantaged members of society. To illustrate this, imagine three ways of running a society. In the first there is much equality but little wealth. In the second there is more inequality, but everybody is wealthier. In the third there is much more inequality, but the poor are less wealthy than they would be in the second society. On the basis of the Difference Principle Rawls would argue that the second way is the most just.
 
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The other part of Rawls' Second Principle is fairness of opportunity. Rawls does not mean to suggest that everyone should have exactly the same opportunities in life, but only that they should have the opportunity to achieve a good life given the circumstances they are placed in.<ref>Rawls, John. A Theory of Justice p.53</ref>
 
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== Criticism ==
 
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His most notable critic was Robert Nozick, who in "Anarchy, State and Utopia" paid tribute to Rawls' contributions, but defended a libertarian viewpoint, according to which it is unjust to redistribute the earnings of the rich and successful amongst the poorer elements of society without their consent. Often "Anarchy, State and Utopia" is read as a companion to "A Theory of Justice."
 
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== References ==
 
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<references/>
 
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Rawls, John}}
 
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[[Category:Philosophers]]
 

Revision as of 12:51, March 1, 2010

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