How Rawls Enriched the Idea of Justice in Liberalism

Introduction

John Rawls was a 20th-century American moral and political philosopher who is best known for his theory of justice as fairness. His work has had a profound impact on the way we think about justice, both in philosophy and in the real world.

In this blog post, I will argue that Rawls has enriched the idea of justice in liberalism in three key ways. First, he has provided a more sophisticated account of the relationship between liberty and equality. Second, he has shown how justice can be achieved even in a society with significant inequalities. Third, he has offered a more realistic and practical vision of how to achieve a just society.

The Relationship Between Liberty and Equality

One of the central challenges of political philosophy is to reconcile the demands of liberty and equality. Rawls argues that these two values are not necessarily in conflict, and that it is possible to achieve a just society that respects both.

Rawls's solution is to distinguish between two kinds of liberty: basic liberties and social and economic liberties. Basic liberties are those that are essential for individual autonomy, such as freedom of speech, freedom of religion, and freedom of association. Social and economic liberties are those that allow people to participate in society and to pursue their own goals, such as the right to own property and the right to education.

Rawls argues that basic liberties should be given priority over social and economic liberties. This is because basic liberties are essential for individual autonomy, and without them, people cannot effectively participate in society or pursue their own goals.

However, Rawls also argues that social and economic liberties are important, and that they should be protected as well. He argues that a just society should provide everyone with the opportunity to achieve a decent standard of living, and that this requires some degree of economic equality.

Justice in a Society with Inequalities

Rawls's theory of justice is often seen as a critique of utilitarianism, which is the view that the best society is one that maximizes happiness for the greatest number of people. Rawls argues that utilitarianism can lead to unjust societies, because it does not take into account the distribution of happiness.

For example, a utilitarian society might allow for a small number of people to be very wealthy, even if this means that a large number of people are poor. Rawls argues that this is unjust, because it violates the principle of equal basic liberties.

Rawls's theory of justice as fairness proposes a different way of thinking about justice. He argues that a just society is one in which everyone has an equal opportunity to achieve a decent standard of living, regardless of their social class or economic status.

A More Realistic and Practical Vision of Justice

Rawls's theory of justice has been criticized for being too abstract and unrealistic. However, Rawls himself argued that his theory was meant to be a guide for practical political reform.

In his later work, Rawls developed a theory of political liberalism, which is a more realistic and practical approach to achieving justice. Political liberalism recognizes that there is no single conception of the good life that everyone agrees on, and that this makes it difficult to achieve a just society.

However, political liberalism argues that it is still possible to achieve a just society by agreeing on a set of basic principles that everyone can accept, even if they disagree about the good life. These principles include the principles of basic liberties and fair equality of opportunity.

Conclusion

Rawls's theory of justice has had a profound impact on the way we think about justice, both in philosophy and in the real world. His work has enriched the idea of justice in liberalism in three key ways: by providing a more sophisticated account of the relationship between liberty and equality, by showing how justice can be achieved even in a society with significant inequalities, and by offering a more realistic and practical vision of how to achieve a just society.

References

• Rawls, John. A Theory of Justice. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1971.
• Rawls, John. Political Liberalism. New York: Columbia University Press, 1993.
• Freeman, Samuel. Rawls: A Theory of Justice and Its Critics. 2nd ed. London: Routledge, 2007.