The Principles and Relevance of John

Rawls's Justice.

Introduction.
Justice is amongst the most contested and controversial ideas in Political Philosophy.
There are many interpretations and explanations of ‘justice’. Even though the idea of justice
can’t be generalized, the rudimentary meaning of justice can be taken as the ability to be
unbiased and fair in every sphere of social, economic, and cultural realms.

John Rawls was a twentieth-century American philosopher, who pioneered the subject
of ‘distributive justice’ by challenging the classical utilitarianist, institutionalist,
feudalaristocratic, and libertarian understanding and interpretations of justice. Among the
different theories of distributive justice, the most relevant theory is considered to be that of
John Rawls’. Rawls is considered one of the most noteworthy political philosophers of all time.
The publication of his book ‘A theory of justice’ in 1971 properly made Rawls’s name.

Analysis.
John Rawls assesses justice as ‘the basic structure of society’ and regards Justice as
fairness and the first virtue of social institutions. He argues that the foundation of the
principles of a just society can be determined through a hypothetical imaginative experiment
which he calls the ‘veil of ignorance’ in which Rawls suggests that we can assess what kind
of society we want by imagining ourselves in a conscious and intelligent state before we’re
born, but without knowing, what circumstances, we’re going to be born into; our futures
surrounded by a veil of ignorance. On the basis of that assessment, according to Rawls, we
shall determine the further development of our societies in the real world.
Rawls, throughout his book, emphasizes three principles of justice-

1. In the first principle (the greatest equal liberty principle), Rawls discusses the equal
distribution of rights and liberties. Rawls asserts that although socio-economic and
biological differences are inevitable, certain liberties must be provided on equal terms

and people shouldn’t trade off their fundamental rights and liberties for any economic
advantages.
2. The second principle is the ‘difference principle’ in which Rawls suggests that, as the
existence of socioeconomic inequalities in a society is inevitable, the creation of a
system is necessary that ensures the existence of social and economic inequalities with
the greatest benefit of the least advantaged of the society.
3. Thirdly, explaining the principle of equal opportunity, Rawls suggests that all social
and economic inequalities must be arranged in such a way that everybody gets equal
opportunities to acquire positions and offices in society.

Critical Evaluation.
The relevance of the principles of John Rawls’s justice in the contemporary world is
immense. In the first principle, Rawls identified rights and liberties like- political liberty (right
to vote and hold public office), freedom of- thought, speech and assembly, liberty of
conscience, freedom from- psychological oppression, whimsical arrest, physical assault and
dismemberment, the right to hold personal property- as specified by the concept of the rule of
law. This principle of Rawls’s justice is practiced by almost all the liberal democratic countries
in the world.

Rawls defends the second principle by asserting that not all people are born with
favourable circumstances, skills, intelligence, work ethic, physique, etc that are necessary for
success in life. For example, Messi and Ronaldo make millions of dollars using their skills,
talents, work ethics, etc., but not everyone has natural arbitrary advantages like them, so the
people who are gifted must also benefit the people who have been marginalized, so that they
can also get justice against the inequalities of nature. In this regard, Rawls writes, “Those who
have been favoured by nature, whoever they are, may gain from their good fortune only
on terms that improve the situation of those who have lost out."(John Rawls. 1971. A theory
of Justice. U.S.A: Harvard University Press.).
In this case, the defenders of ‘meritocracy’ argue that arbitrary advantages have lesser roles to
play. However, biological and social research indicate that even effort can be influenced by
arbitrary advantages. For instance, studies conducted at the Tennessee University suggest that
according to the order of birth, middle-born children are much neglected by their parents and
have inferior psychological, mental, and physical abilities than their first and last siblings 1.
Therefore, the significance and relevance of this principle is visible in those taxation systems
where the rich are taxed more and the taxed revenue is used for social welfare.

In the third principle, Rawls asserts that ‘equal opportunity’ does not mean that
everybody gets what they deserve according to their merits but rather it is to present the
opportunities to all equally; the platform to acquire the required skills according to which the
merits necessary for the offices and positions are assessed. Rawls through this principle argues
that society must set up institutions to bring everyone to the same starting point before the race
begins. The relevance of this principle is visible in the reservation and welfare policies of
various governments around the globe for the disadvantaged groups of their societies.

Criticisms.
However, Rawls’s theory has been criticized on many grounds. The libertarians criticized
Rawls’s theory by suggesting that, the state taxing the rich and distributing it to the poor is
injustice to the rich. They also argue that, state collecting taxes against the choice of the
taxpayer is coercion. The Marxists criticize Rawls’s theory by suggesting that Rawls
constructed a theory of justice preserving the status quo and suggesting the marginalised to
indirectly depend upon the well-off people in the society.

Conclusion.
Therefore, despite all the sharp criticisms, Rawls’s principles of justice hold significant
relevance in the study and practice of political philosophy. He provided relevant solutions to
the injustices prevalent in our society by exploring the unexplored avenues of distributive
justice.

1 https://www.jstor.org/stable/351276
References.
Books;

1. Rawls John. 1971. A Theory of Justice. U.S.A: Harvard University Press.

2. Gauba, O.P. 1981. An introduction to Political Theory. New Delhi: National
Paperbacks.

Websites;

1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Theory_of_Justice
2. https://www.britannica.com/topic/A-Theory-of-Justice
3. https://www.jstor.org/stable/351276