John Rawl's Theory Of Justice

A functioning society holds a reasonable amount of unity given that it has minimal conflict, and that it is governed by an order defined with just principles. When determining the organization of a society, the goal is that it would function systematically and morally. In A Theory of Justice, John Rawls introduces his concepts with the idea that society is not stagnant for it is constantly substituted with new, and theoretically better ideas that stop us from reaching a final unjust social agreement. He also argues that the natural liberty is simply a matter of good or bad fortune and that natural liberty should be proven, which involves change. In the circumstances that he provides under the veil of ignorance, it is feasible for different …show more content…
Thus, an equal distribution of benefits and burdens for all citizens would not be a just practice. In reality, people have the right to possess what they work for. This is reaffirmed by Nozick’s inductive definition of the entitlement theory. He claims that only “person(s) who acquire a holding in accordance with the principles of justice in acquisition”, and those who get it by “the principle of justice in transfer…(is)entitled to the holding” (151). Nonetheless, this puts those who are physically and/or socioeconomically disadvantaged in a detrimental position because all the wealth would accumulate in the upper half of the society. To counteract natural phenomenon of varying advantages, Rawls presents compensatory principles that buffers the injustice that can occur. There are two overarching principles of justice that are to be chosen by a free society. The first principle is that “each person is to have an equal right to the most extensive scheme of equal basic liberties compatible with…(those of) others” (Rawls 53). The basic liberties are those that ensure that every person, even the individuals at the lowest point in society holds rights and have some opportunity of move up or down in the social hierarchy.. The liberties are “political liberties...and freedom of speech and assembly; liberty of conscience” and ranges to “the right to hold property” (Rawls 53). In the market economy, a basic …show more content…
It is that “social and economic inequalities are to be arranged so that they are both reasonably expected to be to everyone’s advantage, and attached to positions and office open to all” (Rawls 53). This holds the concept that the poorest in the society will have a greater benefit to provide them the minimal things that satisfy a comfortable living. Although Rawls believes that not taking the natural lottery into consideration would be ideal, his remark on rationality of the original position takes into consideration that such a system can never be implemented in a society where people can work to get to a better social situation. This is why those in the deem the “original position (to be) purely hypothetical” because the initial principles cannot be tested (Rawls 104). The reasoning behind these initial principles is intuition and Rawls states that intuition is utilized when “there exist(s) no higher-order constructive criteria for determining the proper emphasis for the competing principles of justice” (Rawls 30). Society is not stagnant because it is aware of individuality, and people can come into their own views and voice their needs and concerns through their perspective which is bound to change with time. This allows for “equilibrium...of agreements (to be) freely struck between willing traders” (Rawls 103). Consequently, a society of diverse people