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Relevance of john rawls theory of justice
Rawls view of justice essay
Relevance of john rawls theory of justice
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In our society, people are either born rich and powerful, having the rights and opportunities that those who are born into lower-class would not have. So why should we live in a government system where we allow these inequities to happen? In Justice, Michael J. Sandel discusses John Rawls’ arguments over defining a just society. Rawls believes that “we should reject the contention that the ordering of institution is always defective because the distribution of natural talents and the contingencies of social circumstance are unjust, and this injustice must inevitably carry over to human arrangements. Occasionally this reflection is offered as an excuse for ignoring injustice, as if refusal to acquiesce in injustice is on par with being unable to accept death.
Contrastingly, Rawls views democracy as the only way a state can realise justice. Citizens all need a say in how they live their lives and this improves their political lives in the state. Hobbes’ sovereign rule is flawed as he believes each citizen will give up rights and obey a single ruler who has the final say in all decisions. This type of society will eventually crumble, be it by revolution or distrust in the sovereign’s ability; displaying the total failure of law and order while oppressed citizens rise and
In his experiment Rawls imagines a group of individuals assembled to design their just, future society. The future citizens do not know what position they will be in this new society. They must plan this new society behind what Rawls calls the Veil of Ignorance. This veil of ignorance stipulates that, “no one knows his place in society, his class position or social status; nor does he know his fortune in the distribution of natural assets and abilities, his intelligence and strength, and the like”. Furthermore, the people in this experiment do not know the culture, traditions and economic standing of this future society.
Harvard political philosopher Michael J. Sandel, in his book Justice, refers to the “pain of sympathy” felt by many “tenderhearted souls” when they are faced with poverty, on the streets and elsewhere, and how they wish that there was something being done to stop it (35-36). He also speaks about the reaction of “hardhearted folk” who feel “the pain of disgust” upon seeing homelessness in their own communities and have no sense of pity for them (Sandel 36). In pondering human welfare, it is easiest to solve widespread problems by thinking of overall, hypothetical solutions. The issue of poverty in America (in many cases) comes from the socioeconomic class system that traps people in the class from which their parents came. A just society does everything it can to level the metaphorical scales that create this trap so that its people’s accomplishments and welfare reflect their talent and effort in the field.
John Rawls, a political philanthropist, work has immensely altered modern day political expectations. Rawls was able to begin his work off the bases that he didn't see many social institutions doings as just, in which motivated him began to work on his own theory of what a just society could potentially look like and consist of. He believed that the American society had no proper social justice system in place, but that the rich and powerful controlled how things were going. The powerful group was determining who was succeeding and moving to the top and ultimately, who remained at the bottom. “The ‘difference principle’ states that ‘social and economic inequalities should be arranged so that they are to the greatest benefit of the least advantage.’
John Rawls has the belief that, every individual needs to have equal right to the essential liberty appropriate to a related liberty for other individuals. He also social and economic bias need to be aligned so they are both, wisely expected so they are in everyone’s leverage and are secure to spots and offices accessible to them. “The basic liberties of citizens are, roughly speaking, political liberty (the right to vote and to be eligible for public office) together with the freedom of speech and assembly; liberty of conscience and freedom of thought; freedom of the person along with the right to hold (personal) property; and freedom from arbitrary arrest and seizure as defined by the concept of the rule of law. These liberties are all required
This in turn could result in anarchy or social tumult. Many individuals living in challenging conditions or times who have natural talents and abilities most likely would want to keep their benefits in order to help improve the situation they are in. Such people would certainly be unwilling to share their talents with the less fortunate. Rawls disregards this fact, believing that the ones with the natural abilities live in a great environment while the ones who do not carry that ability live in a horrible and corrupted environment.
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.
He believes that all people in a society are free, equal, and have a drive for cooperation with each other. Once the grounding principles are put into place, then the Original Position acts as a filtering device for Rawls’s principles. The Original Position takes under it “the veil of ignorance,” which helps to block a person’s past and biases, allowing them to choose the best principles for all. From the “veil of ignorance” gets the principles equal basic rights for all, equality of opportunity, and the difference principle. The first principle “requires equality in basic rights and duties, while the second holds that social and economic inequalities...are just only if they result with compensating benefits...particularly for the least well off” (Rawls, TJ p.13).
J RAWLS, The Laws of Peoples-with the Idea of Public Reason Revisited, Harvard University Press: USA, 1999. John Rawls was an influential political philosopher and his publications are widely read. One of which is the Law of Peoples published in 1993 which is the subject of my study. In the Law of Peoples Rawls concerns of the general principles whereby one can uphold and be accept by the liberal people as well as the non-liberal society. “This principle is a standard for which can be useful in regulating the behavior of the citizens towards one and other.”
In the event that market interest is relentless, an increment in business sector supply brings about a decrease in business sector costs and the other way around. In the event that market supply is unfaltering, an ascent sought after results in an ascent in business sector costs and the other way around. A business encourages exchanges in the middle of purchasers and venders (monetary markets) and makers and buyers (buyer products and administrations market). Markets experience variances and value movements coming about because of changes in supply and interest.
I will be discussing the differences between Rawls’ “A Theory of Justice” and Nozick’s “Entitlement Theory.” Not only that, I will also support why Nozick’s “Entitlement Theory” is the superior theory of Justice. Rawls’ “A Theory of Justice” is based on the idea that society cooperates with one another for mutual advantage. If society is a matter of cooperation between equals, the conditions need to be defended and any inequalities among the social positions must be justified. However, in order for the agreement to be secured, we need to eliminate any bias of the rich or the poor, or the religious and the atheist.
This is also where price mechanism takes place because any changes in demand and supply, will affect the price, and eventually balancing the demand to be equal to supply. This is the reason why consumers and producers have no control over the price, and in this situation, everyone is considered as price takers. This causes a horizontal line in the demand curve for the firm’s product(s), as can be seen in Figure 1 (b). Figure 1 There are barely any barriers to enter this market, making it easy to enter and exit according to the firm’s capabilities.
On the other hand, while philosopher Robert Nozick paid a generous tribute to the brilliance of Rawls’ philosophical construction, he provides a rejection to Rawls’ claims from a libertarian perspective. Libertarians have the desire to divide and limit power. That is, government will be limited generally through a written constitution limiting the powers that the people delegate to government (Boaz, 2015). Nozick stated that Rawls’ idea would have resulted in the restriction of free choice or forced distribution within the society.
Robert Nozick was a pupil of Rawls and rejected his teacher’s insistence on the need for governmental intervention in order to achieve a redistribution of wealth. In his book, Anarchy, State and Utopia, he said that a just society is the one based on individualism. The natural rights of the individual are to be considered inviolable, and each person may enjoy those rights subject only to certain moral side restraints concerning the rights of others. He proposes a “minimal State” whose functions are limited to the “night-watchman” protection against force, theft, and fraud, the enforcement of contracts, and a few other essentials. In a word, it is a state dedicated only to be the protection of property rights and the enforcement of fair exchanges.
