John Rawls
A society is just if its rules would be chosen by people who did not know what place they would hold in it.
Life
John Rawls (1921-2002), born in Baltimore, was an American philosopher who taught at Harvard. In A Theory of Justice (1971) he imagines people choosing the rules of their society without knowing what place they will hold in it (the 'veil of ignorance'), and draws two principles: equal liberties for all, then inequalities allowed only if they benefit the least advantaged. He renewed political philosophy and the debate on justice.
Main works
The principles of justice are those that free and equal persons would choose behind a veil of ignorance.
How a society of widely differing convictions can agree on shared principles of justice.
He extends his theory to relations among peoples.
In his own words
« Justice is the first virtue of social institutions, as truth is of systems of thought. »
« The principles of justice are chosen behind a veil of ignorance. »
« It may be expedient but it is not just that some should have less in order that others may prosper. »
Positions
click a row to see the evidenceJustice is a matter of fair principles and rights that cannot be sacrificed to the greater total good, against utilitarianism.
Rawls, A Theory of Justice (1971)
Principles are not discovered in a moral reality but constructed by free and equal persons choosing fairly.
Rawls, Kantian Constructivism in Moral Theory (1980)
He holds that people can develop a sense of justice and that a stable, fair society is a realistic hope.
Rawls, The Law of Peoples (1999)
Equal basic liberties come first, then fair equality of opportunity and inequalities that benefit the worst off.
Rawls, A Theory of Justice (1971)