a theory of justice john rawls sparknotes

This central component of Justice as Fairness has been criticized in a long string of articles, including ones by Brian Barry, Kenneth Arrow, H.L.A. Rawls is deeply opposed, however, to the notion that 'all human interests are commensurable, and that between any two there always exists some rate of exchange in terms of which it is rational to balance the protection of one against the protection of the other.' 3 Anything short of lexical priority for the basic liberties would countenance such trade-offs under certain circumstances. 2 In the absence of the former element, the Priority of Liberty would be the only thing preventing the special conception of justice from collapsing into the general conception, where all social primary goods (and presumably the interests they support) are lumped together.

Part of the reason for this greater prominence is Rawls's growing ambivalence about the other distinctive elements of his political theory, especially the lexical Priority of Fair Equality of Opportunity and the Difference Principle.

As we shall see, its importance in his work has if anything increased over time. This pair of constraints distinguishes it from intuitionism and teleological theories' (p. Rawls himself notes that 'the force of justice as fairness would appear to arise from two things: the requirement that all inequalities be justified to the least advantaged, and the priority of liberty. The Priority of Liberty has always played a central role in Rawls's political theory.

The Priority of Liberty treats these liberties as paramount and prohibits their sacrifice for the sake of efficiency, utilitarian and perfectionist ideals, or even other principles within Justice as Fairness (e.g., Fair Equality of Opportunity and the Difference Principle). the right to hold personal property and freedom from arbitrary arrest and seizure.' (p. The First Priority Rule (the Priority of Liberty) of John Rawls's Justice as Fairness reads: 'the principles of justice are to be ranked in lexical order and therefore the basic liberties can be restricted only for the sake of liberty.' 1 The basic liberties are those commonly protected by constitutional regimes, including 'freedom of speech and assembly liberty of conscience and freedom of thought freedom of the person. Rawls's Defense of the Priority of Liberty:Ī Kantian Reconstruction Robert S. In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:

A theory of justice john rawls sparknotes