John Rawls's Theory Of Distributive Justice

A controversial question in any society is the discussion on how primary goods should be distributed. Some cultures try to distribute goods as equally as possible while others adhere to the more harsh practice of bigger dogs eat first. Distributive justice itself is the concept of how primary goods – such as income and rights – are distributed within a given society and also takes into consideration if the distribution is fair. John Rawls, a prominent political philosopher from the late 1900’s, heavily weighed in on this discussion and developed a theory based on two principles to describe, in his opinion, the fairest form of distributive justice. This form of justice, or lack thereof, is a concept engrained in our most important structures such as income, education, taxation, and various other burdens and benefits, but is it possible to have fairly distributed primary goods? Though it would be extremely ideal to attain Rawls idea of distributive justice, it is impossible to create a society in which this is possible.
Four prominent theories on distributive justice exist in political theory today: …show more content…
A social contract must be created while those in the society are in what is well known as the original position. The original position declares that principles centered on the concept of justice are only valid if all member of the society agree on them free from outside influences. Rawls also introduces the concept of the veil of ignorance, which is also required for these principles to be just. The veil of ignorance is the idea that those deciding on the principle would be ignorant of both their own and other members of the societies characteristics (socioeconomic status, race, religion, gender, etc.). These pre-requisites are necessary to create a truly just society, and without them equal opportunity will not exist within that