Rawls Theory of Justice

Rawls theory of Justice Samuel Freeman called Rawl’s theory of Justice as “one of the most influential works in moral and Introduction: political philosophy” in the twentieth century. Rawl attempted to formulate a theory of justice that would Crux of preserve social justice and individual liberty. He Rawls theory reacts to the utilitarian theory of the period that stated that justice is to be perceived as a system that “provides the greatest good of the greatest number” and argues that justice should be modeled on a fair choice situation within which parties would hypothetically choose mutually acceptable principles of justice. In this, he prompts us to use the “veil of ignorance” or the Original Position in determining the morality of societal roles. Original Position definition

Link to earlier theorists

Elaboration on theory

Meanings of words Formulate=build; construct; to create from scratch Utilitarian=practical; useful

The Veil of ignorance In explaining his concept of the ‘Veil of Ignorance’, Rawl posits that social justice can be rendered from the original position or objective vantage point. The original position is occupied by a person who is “shrouded in a veil of ignorance” with no “foreknowledge of his or her position in society”. Such a person enlisted with the task of providing social justice will choose a system of justice that adequately provides for those in the lower rungs of society. The reason for the choice will be dictated by the fact that the person in the original position may otherwise end up disadvantaged and will feel the need to be provided for.

Posit=present; to say Foreknowledge=To have knowledge before… Enlisted=selected Adequately=sufficiently Dictated=governed; motivated Disadvantaged= without advantage.

Rawls draws on earlier political theories to Substantiate=prove substantiate his ideas. He states that earlier political Stipulate=to state with philosophies stipulate that society is a social contract emphasis. between individuals who have agreed on terms and conditions of governance. Such a social contract, if formulated from the original position will be a just society that does not sacrifice the liberty of the individual. Rawl’s Theory of Justice addresses issues of liberty, social equality, democracy and the conflict of interest between the individual and society. The theory is built around concepts of fairness, liberty and equality in distribution of wealth. The process of justice is

Addresses==talks about Conflict=disagreements Built=constructed Concept=idea Governed=ruled Process=practice; means; methodology

governed by principles of efficiency and principles of difference. Principle of Liberty Each person must have an equal right to the most extensive system of equal basic liberties compatible with a similar system of liberty for all. Principle of wealth

Extensive=widespread Compatible= wellmatched

Consistent-uniform; in harmony

Social and economic inequalities are to be arranged so that they are both: (a) to the greatest benefit of the least advantaged, consistent with the just savings principle, and (b) attached to offices and positions open to all under conditions of fair equality of opportunity.

Opportunity=chance

Principle of Efficiency Rawl’s adopts Pareto’s concept of efficiency. It is negatively defined. A system cannot be considered efficient if there is an alternative arrangement that improves the situation of some people without making worse the situation of others. However, even where arrangements are efficient, they may not be equally just. Other principles of justice must be invoked to select the most efficient arrangement. The Difference Principle This is an egalitarian concept in that it makes equal distribution the norm. There can be no difference except those that are justified on the grounds of efficiency.

Adopt=take over; use

Invoked=considered

Egalitarian=equal; democratic Justified=that which can be defended; reasoned out.

Priority Rules Rawls explicitly addresses the fact that there will be Unanimously= in one situations where these two primary principles will be voice; in complete in conflict with each other. Rather than compromise agreement between them in such cases, he takes the position that

there is a specific priority. The Priority of Liberty The principles of justice are to be ranked in lexical order and therefore liberty can be restricted only for the sake of liberty. There are two cases: (a) a less extensive liberty must strengthen the total system of liberty shared by all;

Explicitly=clearly Compromise= give concessions; come to terms with

(b) a less than equal liberty must be acceptable to those with the lesser liberty. The Priority of Justice over Efficiency and Welfare The second principle of justice is lexically prior to the principle of efficiency and to that of maximizing the sum of advantages; and fair opportunity is prior to the difference principle. There are two cases: (a) an inequality of opportunity must enhance the opportunities of those with the lesser opportunity; (b) an excessive rate of saving must on balance mitigate the burden of those bearing this hardship. Modification of Rawl’s Theory of Justice in later works Modification

Rawls modified his theory of justice in his later work to reorganize and clarify his ideas. He introduced the concept of “Fairness” into the Theory of Justice. Principle of Fairness “Justice is the first virtue of a social institution” says Rawl. He holds that a good society is one that is structured according to the principles of justice. Existing theories of justice are inadequate in the context. So a viable alternative must be found that reformulates the basic structure of society on the basis of “fairness”. Rawl explains that fairness is important for two key purposes:

Virtue=good quality Structured=defined; created Inadequate=not enough Context=situation; circumstances

Assigning=allotting; giving Appropriate=correct; right Benefits=advantages

Burdens= problems

1. to provide a way of assigning right and duties in the basic institutions of society; and 2. to define the appropriate distribution of the benefits and burdens of society. But, well-ordered societies, based on the above definition is rare because there is a dispute about “what is just and what is unjust”. Further, a wellordered, just society must be formulated to address the problems of “efficiency, coordination and stability”.

Efficiency=good organization Coordination=bringing together Stability=firmness; strength

Criticism of Rawls theory of Justice The theory of justice was criticized on several grounds. Criticism

Rawls concept of “Veil of Ignorance” is both hypothetical and ahistorical. It is hypothetical because the principles are to be derived from what parties would agree upon under legitimizing circumstances and that those principles would have moral weight as a result. It is ahistorical in that it does not suppose that the agreement could actually be entered into as a matter of fact.

Hypothetical=theoretical; imaginary Derived=got from; obtained Legitimizing=making legal; validating Ahistorical=does not take into consideration historical developments

Social theorists also criticize Rawls theory as Divorcing=separating divorcing the individual from the values and aspirations that define him or her. Marxist critics argued that Rawl’s theory is an apology for the status quo as it constructs justice from existing practices and forecloses the possibility that there may be problems of injustice embedded in capitalistic social relations, private property or market economy. Feminist critics focused on how Rawl’s theory would impact familial relationships and felt that he failed to account for injustices found in patriarchal societies and the gendered division of labor within households and other places. Egalitarian critics criticized Rawl’s emphasis on social goods. They argued that Rawl’s concern with

Constructs=builds Forcloses=closes/ends before the beginning Embedded=buried

Focused=concentrated; pay attention to Partriarchal=deriving from the father Gendered division=division based on sex of the individual

equality in the distribution of goods is not sufficient and he should have taken into consideration how people use the goods. Ultimate=final Absolutizes=make absolute; describe as the only one.

Others like Allan Bloom argued that Rawl absolutizes social union as the ultimate goal which would make it artificial. Fetish=obsession

G.A Cohen criticized Rawl’s avowal of inequality under the difference principle. He said that Rawl applied the principle only to social institutions and had a fetish about primary goods. Emerging=coming out Reflective

Amartya Sen defends Rawl’s basic notion of justice equilibrium=balance but is critical of his notion of fairness and the two arising from thinking principles of justice emerging from the original about it. position. He argues that there are multiple possible outcomes of the reflective equilibrium behind the veil of ignorance. Finally Charles Blattberg criticized Rawl’s theory for treating politics like a game. He feels that Rawl failed to take politics seriously.