John Rawls Research Paper

The American philosopher, John Rawls, has forever shaped the way we think of the world with his powerful philosophical arguments on the principles of justice. In this essay, I will discuss John Rawls second principle of justice. Furthermore, I will go in depth to explain his original position and why his principles of justice are favored over utilitarianism. Knowing Rawls second principle of justice enhances understanding of how he derived it from the original position.

John Rawls second principle of justice states that social and economic inequalities are to be arranged so that they work to the greatest advantage of the worst off (the difference principle) and everyone has an equal opportunity to achieve positions of authority and wealth.

The difference principle requires that social institutions be arranged so that inequalities of wealth and income work in favor of those who will be the worst off. With advantage tilted towards the least advantaged, the difference principle will not allow the rich to get richer at the expense of the poor. The difference principle states that natural endowments are undeserved. It shouldn’t shape a person’s chance to get ahead in life based on the situation they were born into. Privileged citizens do not merit more social product simply because he or she was lucky enough to be born into a great life. Rawls makes it sound like privileged kids are evil for being born into their situation but that is not what he is trying to say. Citizens that are born into wealthy families and have more to give can be used to make everyone better off. By using their endowments to make themselves better off can contribute to those who are less endowed. A good example of this is when wealthy families need a repair man. They could call a big company to come fix whatever is wrong in their house or they could call a friend of theirs who is in the repair business who doesn’t make the best income. By paying their friend to come fix some issues in their house, they are redistributing their wealth to the less endowed. This example shows a simple way in which the more fortunate can give back to the less fortunate without simply just handing

Rawls attempts to construct an objective method for deciding what justice is. Would free and equal rational people agree under fair circumstances? Rawls firmly believes that people would agree in his hypothetical situation he created and he can look at the answers and apply them to the real world. For his hypothetical scenario, people wouldn’t know their social class, how much money they make, ethnic identity or religious affiliation, their natural talents, how smart they are and what the good life looks like (Arthur). He wants to know what they would set as the moral principals of a society. Rawls attempts to show that his two principles of justice would be favored over utilitarian principles since he sees utilitarianism as the main competing tradition of reasoning about justice