John Ralws

• Freedom

  In terms of justice as fairness - individuals have equal access to liberties and opportunities

  Supports negative and positive freedom - emphasising true freedom requires addressing social inequalities through institutional arrangements
• Freedom: Counterpoints

  Classical liberals: Rawls' approach emphasises too much on societal structure and not enough on individual liberty

  Libertarian thinkers: critique Rawls for advocating state intervention that infringe upon personal freedoms
• Important work

  Theory of Justice 1971
• Examples

  Affirmative Action Policies= designed to address inequalities and promote opportunities for disadvantaged groups - his ideas on justice for least advantaged

  Universal Healthcare Initiatives = to provide equal access to medical services

  Minimum Wage Laws = basic standard of living for all workers
• Human nature

  • humans as rational beings capable of ethical reasoning who can cooperate under fair conditions
  • individuals are motivated by a sense of justice as well as self interest
• Human nature: Counterpoints

  1. Marxist: Rawl's focus on distributive justice fails to address the structural inequalities inherent in capitalism
  2. Libertarians: critique Rawl's principles for being overly prescriptive about how society should be structured, undermining individual freedom
  3. Anarchist: Rawl's ideas do not go far enough in dismantling hierarchal structures that limit true freedom
• Society

  • envisions a just society based on fairness and equality, where social and economic inequalities are arranged to benefit the least advantaged
  • emphasises importance of institutions that uphold justice
• Society: Counterpoints

  1. Gradualist socialist: principles are impractical within existing power structures
  2. New right: May critique for promoting a level of equality that undermines individual success
  3. social democrat: could contend that Rawl's framework doesn't adequately address the role of social solidarity and community in justice
• State

  • advocates for a constitutional democracy that ensures the protection of individual rights and social justice
  • supports separation of powers and checks and balances to prevent tyranny
  • enabling state
• State: Counterpoints

  1. anarchist: any form of state is inherently oppressive and should be abolished
  2. republicanism: emphasises civic virtue and participation - Rawl's model is too focused on individual rights at the expense of communal responsibilities
  3. new right: a robust state undermines individual freedoms and should be minimised
• Economy

  • regulated economy that promoted fair distribution of resources and opportunities
  • economic inequality are permissible if they benefit the least advantaged
• Economy: Counterpoints

  1. neo-liberals: free markets are the best path to prosperity for all
  2. marxists: critique the notion of permissible inequalities, arguing for abolition of class distributions entirely
  3. socialists: economic systems should be completely decentralised and communal