Key Thinker - John Rawls Flashcards
(12 cards)
Who was John Rawls
-born 1921 died 2002
-an American philosopher who wrote ‘A theory of justice 1971
What was the first principle objectives did his major work ‘a theory of justice’ have
-restate the core liberal principle of ‘foundational equality’
What did the first objective to restate the principle of ‘fundamental equality’
-meant individuals required not just formal equality under the law + constitution but also greater social + economic equality
Why did Rawls argue that this objective was necessary
-to ensure the just society where all loved could be rich + fulfilled
His did Rawls argue this would be provided
-by a significant redistribution of wealth via an enabling state with extensive public spending + progressive taxation
What was the second principle objective that his work ‘a theory of justice’ had
-to show that such a redistribution of wealth was not a ‘surrender to socialism’ but consistent with liberal principles
How did Rawls want to do this
-constructed a series of philosophical conditions
-the first one termed ‘the original position’
What was this ‘original position’
-whereby individuals asked construct from scratch a society they judged to be superior to their current one
-central to this were questions of how wealth + power should be distributed
What was the second condition in this objective
-the ‘veil of ignorance’
What was the veil of ignorance
-whereby individuals have no preconceptions about the sort of people they may be in this new society
-might be white or from ethnic minority or they may be rich or poor
What did Rawls argue humans would do in this situation
-faced with situation as humans are rational + empathetic they would choose a society where poorest members faces signif better than in present society
-key point being s ‘fairer’ society where inequalities reduced
What did Rawls note most individuals would want despite choosing to improve the lots of the poorest
-considerable scope for individual liberty, self-fulfilment + signif inequality of outcome
-so Rawls didn’t argue for gap between rich + loose should be narrowed despite the lot of the poor being improved by the state — distinct from socialism
