A Theory of Justice
John Rawls's 1971 case for justice as fairness, an alternative to utilitarianism.
At a glance
Key ideas
The original position, Greatest equal liberty, Fair equality of opportunity …
See all 5Criticism
Nozick, Sandel, Okin …
See all 5Connections
John Rawls, After Virtue and 2 others
See all 4
Also on this page: Key facts · Links · Sources · Related pages
- Rawls offers a moral theory of distributive justice as an alternative to utilitarianism.
- Parties in an original position choose principles behind a veil of ignorance about their own place in society.
- He argues they would pick equal basic liberties first, then fair equality of opportunity, then the difference principle.
- Inequalities are just only when they benefit the least advantaged.
Why it matters
- It is widely credited with reviving normative political philosophy and drew responses from utilitarians, libertarians, communitarians, feminists and Marxists.
Key facts
- Author
- John Rawls1
- Published
- 1971, Belknap Press of Harvard University Press2
- Revised edition
- 1999, incorporating changes Rawls made for translated editions2
- Length and sales
- About 600 pages; over 300,000 copies sold2
- Restated in
- The 1985 essay "Justice as Fairness" and the 2001 book Justice as Fairness: A Restatement1
Key ideas
-
The original position1
A hypothetical, ahistorical agreement among parties who do not know their class, status, talents or conception of the good.
-
Greatest equal liberty1
Each person has an equal right to the most extensive system of basic liberties compatible with the same for all.
-
Fair equality of opportunity1
Offices and positions open to all, with a real chance to gain the skills merit is judged on.
-
The difference principle1
Inequalities are allowed only to the greatest benefit of the least advantaged; inborn talents are not morally deserved.
-
Lexical order1
Liberty comes first, then equal opportunity, then the difference principle; liberties cannot be traded for gains.
Criticism
-
Nozick1
Defended libertarianism against its account of distributive justice in Anarchy, State, and Utopia (1974).
-
Sandel1
Argued it asks people to think about justice apart from the values that define them (1982).
-
Okin1
Called it the most influential twentieth-century theory of justice but faulted its neglect of the family (1989).
-
Arrow and Harsanyi1
Questioned the original position's maximin reasoning.
-
Charles W. Mills1
Argued it has nothing to say about racial justice.
Connections
Links
Sources
Last checked against its sources today
Is something on this page wrong or out of date? Tell us
The line under a date fills as time passes: empty when new, then one equal share each for a day, a week, a month and a year. For episodes and other items it is full at 2 years; for "last checked", at a year. A striped line means the date is known only to the month or year.