"Justice as Fairness: Political not Metaphysical" is an
essay
An essay is, generally, a piece of writing that gives the author's own argument, but the definition is vague, overlapping with those of a letter, a paper, an article, a pamphlet, and a short story. Essays have been sub-classified as formal a ...
by
John Rawls, published in 1985. In it he describes his conception of
justice
Justice, in its broadest sense, is the principle that people receive that which they deserve, with the interpretation of what then constitutes "deserving" being impacted upon by numerous fields, with many differing viewpoints and perspective ...
. It comprises two main
principles of
liberty
Liberty is the ability to do as one pleases, or a right or immunity enjoyed by prescription or by grant (i.e. privilege). It is a synonym for the word freedom.
In modern politics, liberty is understood as the state of being free within society fr ...
and
equality; the second is subdivided into Fair Equality of Opportunity and the Difference Principle.
Rawls arranges the principles in 'lexical priority', prioritising in the order of the Liberty Principle, Fair Equality of Opportunity and the Difference Principle. This order determines the priorities of the principles if they conflict in practice. The principles are, however, intended as a single, comprehensive conception of justice—'Justice as Fairness'—and not to function individually. These principles are always applied so as to ensure that the "least advantaged" are benefitted and not hurt or forgotten.
Rawls originally presented the
theory
A theory is a rational type of abstract thinking about a phenomenon, or the results of such thinking. The process of contemplative and rational thinking is often associated with such processes as observational study or research. Theories may be s ...
in his 1971 book ''
A Theory of Justice
''A Theory of Justice'' is a 1971 work of political philosophy and ethics by the philosopher John Rawls (1921-2002) in which the author attempts to provide a moral theory alternative to utilitarianism and that addresses the problem of distributiv ...
'', subsequently expanding upon several of its themes in his later book titled ''
Political Liberalism
Liberalism is a political and moral philosophy based on the rights of the individual, liberty, consent of the governed, political equality and equality before the law."political rationalism, hostility to autocracy, cultural distaste for co ...
''.
First principle: the liberty principle
The first and most important principle is that everyone has the same rights as fundamental freedoms. Rawls argued that "certain rights and freedoms are more important or fundamental "than others." For example,
Samuel Freeman argues, Rawls believes that "personal property"—personal belongings, a home—constitutes a basic liberty, but an absolute right to unlimited private property is not. As a fundamental freedom, these rights are inviolable. The government must not alter, violate or remove such rights from individuals. Thomas Mertens says Rawls believes that the principles of society are chosen by representative citizens on "fair" terms.
Rawls articulates the Liberty Principle as the most extensive basic liberty compatible with similar liberty for others in ''
A Theory of Justice
''A Theory of Justice'' is a 1971 work of political philosophy and ethics by the philosopher John Rawls (1921-2002) in which the author attempts to provide a moral theory alternative to utilitarianism and that addresses the problem of distributiv ...
''; he later amended this in ''
Political Liberalism
Liberalism is a political and moral philosophy based on the rights of the individual, liberty, consent of the governed, political equality and equality before the law."political rationalism, hostility to autocracy, cultural distaste for co ...
'', stating instead that "each person has an equal claim to a fully adequate scheme of equal basic rights and liberties".
Second principle: the equality principle
The principle is part of justice that established
distributive justice
Distributive justice concerns the socially just allocation of resources. Often contrasted with just process, which is concerned with the administration of law, distributive justice concentrates on outcomes. This subject has been given considera ...
. Rawls awards the Fair Equality of Opportunity Principle lexical priority over the Difference Principle: Society cannot adjust inequality to maximize the proportion of those who are most vulnerable without providing positions and the opportunities that are necessary for the worse-off to achieve them.
Fair equality of opportunity
This principle maintains that "offices and positions" have to be open to all, regardless of their social background, caste or gender. This principle is stronger than the 'Formal Equality of Opportunity'. Rawls argues that human potential should not only be a 'right', but also an 'effective' equal opportunity.
Difference principle
The Difference Principle regulates inequalities: it permits only inequalities that work to the advantage of the worst-off. This is often misinterpreted as
trickle-down economics
Trickle-down economics is a term used in critical references to economic policies that favor the upper income brackets, corporations, and individuals with substantial wealth or capital. In recent history, the term has been used by critics of ...
; Rawls' argument is more accurately expressed as a system where wealth "diffuses up". By guaranteeing the worst-off in society a fair deal, Rawls compensates for naturally occurring inequalities (talents that one is born with, such as a capacity for sport).
Rawls justifies the Difference Principle on the basis that, since Fair Equality of Opportunity has lexical priority, the Just choice from
Pareto optimal scenarios which could occur would be that benefiting the worst-off rather than the best-off.
Original position
A key component of Rawls' argument is his claim that his Principles of Justice would be chosen by parties in the
original position.
[Freeman, 2009: http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/original-position/] This is a
thought experiment
A thought experiment is a hypothetical situation in which a hypothesis, theory, or principle is laid out for the purpose of thinking through its consequences.
History
The ancient Greek ''deiknymi'' (), or thought experiment, "was the most anci ...
in which the parties select principles that will determine the basic structure of the society they will live in. This choice is made from behind a
veil of ignorance, which would deprive participants of information about their particular characteristics: his or her
ethnicity
An ethnic group or an ethnicity is a grouping of people who identify with each other on the basis of shared attributes that distinguish them from other groups. Those attributes can include common sets of traditions, ancestry, language, history, ...
,
social status
Social status is the level of social value a person is considered to possess. More specifically, it refers to the relative level of respect, honour, assumed competence, and deference accorded to people, groups, and organizations in a society. Stat ...
,
gender
Gender is the range of characteristics pertaining to femininity and masculinity and differentiating between them. Depending on the context, this may include sex-based social structures (i.e. gender roles) and gender identity. Most cultures u ...
and, crucially, their
conception of the good. This forces participants to select principles
impartially
Impartiality (also called evenhandedness or fair-mindedness) is a principle of justice holding that decisions should be based on objective criteria, rather than on the basis of bias, prejudice, or preferring the benefit to one person over another ...
and
rationally.
See also
*''
Justice as Fairness: A Restatement''
Notes
References
* Avineri, S. and de-Shalit, A. (ed.) (1992) ''Communitarianism and Individualism'' (Oxford University Press)
* Freeman, S. (2007) ''Rawls'' (Routledge, Abingdon)
* Freeman, S. (2009) "Original Position" (The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, http://plato.stanford.edu/archives/spr2009/entries/original-position)
* Rawls, J. () ''Political Liberalism'' (Columbia University Press, New York)
* Rawls, J. () ''A Theory of Justice'' (Harvard University Press, Cambridge MA)
* Wenar, Leif (2008) "John Rawls" (The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, http://plato.stanford.edu/archives/fall2008/entries/rawls/)
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