"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 ...

John Rawls John Bordley Rawls (; February 21, 1921 – November 24, 2002) was an American moral, legal and political philosopher in the liberal tradition. Rawls received both the Schock Prize for Logic and Philosophy and the National Humanities Medal in ...

, 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 A principle is a proposition or value that is a guide for behavior or evaluation. In law, it is a rule that has to be or usually is to be followed. It can be desirably followed, or it can be an inevitable consequence of something, such as the law ...

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 ...

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 distrib ...

'', subsequently expanding upon several of its themes in his later book titled '' Political Liberalism''.

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 ''

''; he later amended this in '' Political Liberalism'', 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 Pareto efficiency or Pareto optimality is a situation where no action or allocation is available that makes one individual better off without making another worse off. The concept is named after Vilfredo Pareto (1848–1923), Italian civil engin ...

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 The original position (OP), often referred to as the veil of ignorance, is a thought experiment used for reasoning about the principles that should structure a society based on mutual dependence. The phrases ''original position'' and ''veil of i ...

.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 anc ...

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 The original position (OP), often referred to as the veil of ignorance, is a thought experiment used for reasoning about the principles that should structure a society based on mutual dependence. The phrases ''original position'' and ''veil of i ...

, 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. St ...

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 culture ...

and, crucially, their conception of the good. This forces participants to select principles impartially and rationally.

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/) {{DEFAULTSORT:Justice As Fairness 1985 essays Books in political philosophy Concepts in ethics Concepts in political philosophy Concepts in social philosophy Contemporary philosophical literature Egalitarianism Ethics Ethics books History of ethics History of philosophy Intellectual history John Rawls Justice Philosophical concepts Philosophical theories Philosophy essays Public sphere Social justice Social philosophy literature Sociology essays Theories Theories of law Value (ethics) Virtue