By: Arjun VermaJohn Rawls was an American political philosopher from the twentieth century whose ideas revived political philosophy. What did John Rawls believe? Rawls begins with the idea that societies tend to consist of people who disagree with one another. Thus, he seeks to construct a just society in a way that all people could reasonably accept. To do this, Rawls devises a hypothetical thought experiment known as the Original Position where people are designing a just society. Here, individuals are assumed to be free, rational, and self-interested. However, Rawls argues that our identities, situations, and beliefs bias us. Thus, these individuals should not know facts like their gender, race, age, intelligence, or wealth. Rawls thinks that this can generate an objective idea about what justice entails, namely that two principles arise. First, the liberty principle entails that everyone should possess freedom as long as they don’t interfere with others, and second, the difference principle suggests that laws should provide equal opportunity and benefit the least well-off. Because people would not know their social location, they are incentivized to create a fair and equal society for everyone. Thus, Rawls’s political philosophy offers important insight into questions of distributive justice, discrimination, and freedom. How can his ideas be applied today? First, Rawls’s political theory offers support for the importance of wealth redistribution. Historical factors, including race and class, should not play a factor in how well an individual can live in a society. Instead, people should have equal opportunities for achieving success. Without support systems, individuals are often confined to cycles of poverty. Second, democracy is essential to a well-functioning and just society. Through democracy, people are able to voice their opinions on an equal playing field and actualize the two principles of Rawlsian justice. Democracy is key to protecting liberty by upholding liberal democracy and the values fundamental to it. Third, Rawls forces us to address our own cognitive biases. While some of these biases may be negative stereotypes of certain groups, others may simply be unintentionally skewed perceptions of the world. Our identities and beliefs are important to us, yet they should never be the groundwork for excluding others from fundamental resources. Via the Rawlsian Original Position, we can attempt to rid ourselves of these biases and focus on the objective moral truth. Arjun VermaArjun is a high school senior. He is a captain of his high school's Lincoln Douglas debate team.
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Arjun V.I am an undergraduate student who's fascinated by anything related to philosophy. I hope to show you how philosophy can apply to everyday life! Check out my Youtube Channel, Philosophy in Context. Archives
August 2022
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