Preview

Rawls Theory of Social Justice : How Decisions Are Made Essay Example

Better Essays
Open Document
Open Document
1207 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Rawls Theory of Social Justice : How Decisions Are Made Essay Example
Rawls Theory of Social Justice: How decisions are made to benefit all. “Until the great mass of the people shall be filled with the sense of responsibility for each other's welfare, social justice can never be attained” (Helen Keller).This quote suggests that social justice can be attained with the involvement of the many.
Social Justice can be defined as fair and proper administration of laws and natural laws, that all persons irrespective of ethnicity, gender, possessions, race or religion are entitled too, and equally applied. Social justice, sometimes called civil justice, refers to the concept of a society in which justice is achieved in every aspect of society, and not only in the administration of law. Social justice affords all individuals and groups, fair treatment and an impartial share of the benefits of society.This paper seeks to explain the concept of John Rawls “Theory of Social Justice” and how this theory helps man make decisions that benefit all of society, equitable.
John Rawls, an American moral and political philosopher, whose major work, A Theory of Justice, had a profound impact on ethics and political theory. Rawls believed there must be an alternative view of justice than the view of the Utilitarianism where the action that benefits the greatest is the best. Rawls believed that this is a treat to individual’s rights and freedoms even if it occurs in the minority. Rawls believed that the principles of justice and fairness among individuals must apply equitable.
John Rawls, social justice theory seeks to create a society where the principles of justice and fairness are provided and to ensure the protection of equal access to liberties, rights, and opportunities, as well as taking care of the least advantaged members of society. The concept is based around a social contract, which is the voluntary agreement among people with each another and the government which results in an organized society. What must be noted is that Rawls theory is

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    John Rawls’ Fairness Approach is an appropriate ethical framework to use when assessing this dilemma. This approach questions if everyone involved is being treated fairly (is there favoritism and discrimination?). The Fairness Approach examines how fairly or unfairly the actions of an individual or group distribute benefits and burdens everyone else. With this approach, consistency of treatment among persons is key. The only insistence when treatment must differ is if there is a morally relevant difference between people (Andre, Meyer, Shanks, Velasquez, 1989). There are three different kinds of justice -- Distributive, Restorative, and Compensatory. Distributive justice focuses on the benefits and burdens evenly distributed amongst society’s…

    • 183 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    HCM 420 Mastery Exercises

    • 2182 Words
    • 8 Pages

    3. True or false? Rawls' view of social justice includes people making choices to protect those who are in a lesser position in society.…

    • 2182 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Last Detroit Summary

    • 553 Words
    • 3 Pages

    I have always thought myself to be mindful of my country’s socio-political climate and the connotations of each social class, it is something that I am passionate about, but Mr. Bardecki’s mention of John Rawls was my first introduction to the theory of justice as fairness. From the article “John Rawls and the Liberal Theory of Society” this was one of Rawls’ bold, powerful statements that struck me the most: “A just society is a society that if you knew everything about it, you’d be willing to enter it in a random place.” I believe that this concisely states John Rawls’ philosophy of equal rights, opportunity, and promotion of the least advantaged members of society. In the aforementioned quote, Rawls suggests that for a society to be truly fair, there would be no discrimination between the classes. To simplify, you would not care whether you were to be put into the upper class or the lower class of a society because you would have the same opportunities and benefits in both.…

    • 553 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The United States Pledge of Allegiance is an honorable and commendable mantra. It concludes with, “one nation under God, indivisible with liberty and justice for all.” Justice in the former reference is inclusive for everyone, an entitlement, granted upon birth. John Rawls position of justice is that “everyone should be treated equally and as fair as possible”. Mr. Rawls position parallels the Egalitarian theory of equality and mutual respect. This isn’t necessarily the practice because contrary to the hope for multiple factors are factored in to the outcome.…

    • 230 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Sacraments Study Guide

    • 5085 Words
    • 21 Pages

    social justice : form of justice that treats all people fairly and equally according to their due…

    • 5085 Words
    • 21 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Theories of justice are also referred to in the article. These theories utilize concepts by John Rawls which include ideas on how to “create an environment of opportunity and access by all to the most comprehensive range of prospects” (Colin, 2012, p. 444). This theory can lead to a society where individuals are given opportunities to succeed.…

    • 1775 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    John Rawls bases his Theory of Justice on the intuitive conviction that justice as fairness is the first virtue of social institutions. He argues that in order to ensure fair distributions of advantages in society, a workable set of principles are required in order to determine how institutions ought to distribute rights and duties and to establish a clear way to address competing claims to social advantages. The second principle that Rawls develops stipulates that economic and social inequalities are justifiable so long as the requirements of fair equality of opportunity have been met and if they benefit the worst off in society. Rawls argues that the requirement of improving the conditions of the worst off, known as the Difference Principle,…

    • 786 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    John Rawls, of the most important political philosopher, is primarily known for his theory of justice as fairness. This theory was established in order to build and maintain govern a modern social order. Rawls' theory is the building blocks of a society where the people have equal opportunities for personal or political aspirations. His theory also would help the less advantaged people benefit more. The theory of Justice is considered to be a fair system of cooperation over time, from one generation to the next.…

    • 1243 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Better Essays

    In what follows, I will attempt to portray the philosophy of John Rawls with regard to the theory of societal justice. My aim is convey Rawls’ conception of justice. I will discuss his original position of equality and how the essential veil of ignorance collaborates with the original position to arrive at a societal ground zero. I will also address the two principles that Rawls believe would emerge from the original position to guide a just society.…

    • 1767 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    A just society should be one that leads to progression and protects an individual's rights and freedoms. In this paper I will take Rawls position that we would create a more just society by creating a minimum standard of living for everyone. One of the main points presented in Nozick’s theory is that redistribution is wrong because it is unjust to steal resources that were justly earned from one person and to give it to someone else. In principle Nozick is correct that redistribution is unjust in the sense that we are taking resources from one person to give to another, however, Nozick’s view doesn’t account for the fact that people aren’t born with equal opportunity so without redistribution it results in a hierarchy that keeps increasing.…

    • 1471 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    John Rawls, using Kantian rationality, discusses ways to determine principles of social justice. He begins by making a clear distinction as to what defines the social justice used in his argument – “the way in which the major social institutions distribute fundamental rights and duties and determine the division of advantages from social cooperation”. Rawls then continues to introduce concepts such as the original position which pertains to the thought experiment he calls the veil of ignorance – the original position is a hypothetical state where members of society decide what the principles of justice are. To find the original position, the members must use the veil of ignorance in the sense of having ignorance toward class, intelligence, strength, and things alike, in order to prevent bias and in turn create a fair choice. With this in mind, Rawls sets forth to disprove utilitarianism within justice. He claims that utilitarianism is unjust for it does not respect the rights and liberties of all individuals - if slavery was beneficial to the majority, using utilitarianism logic, some would claim it is just. Rawls argues for the equality of rights; inequalities are justified only if they benefit the society as a whole. He makes a key distinction between the benefit of the majority, and the advantage of all.…

    • 472 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Social justice is a topic known all to well in today's society. Such issues as social heirarchial structure and unjust representatives of citizens of nations are issues in need of attention by those in power. Corruption, lies and greed by those in power however stand in the way of this form of justice from occurring, leaving many with little or no social status open to prejudice on race, religious and sexual grounds.…

    • 1860 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Rawls had these two ideas. One idea was that all should be equal. All should have the same rights. The second idea was if there are any inequalities, everyone should benefit from them in the society. Still to this day, philosophers stand with these ideas of Rawls.…

    • 448 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    John Rawls wrote the book, A Theory of Justice. Rawls defines society as a group of people who create and cooperate with set rules; the rules are burdens in society whereas cooperating in…

    • 1823 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Social Justice Overview

    • 1748 Words
    • 5 Pages

    “Social Justice” is often considered a vague or indefinite term. The ambiguous nature of the term lends itself to be interpreted in many ways. Philosophers and theologians, both past and present, have given their interpretations of what social justice means and though they may argue over the “true” meaning of social justice, there is always the undertone of a certain fairness across humanity with regard to human rights. The arguments over what is fair and who determines fairness is often the dividing line amongst intellectuals attempting to define social justice. In the end, all interpretations agree that social injustice is often more likely than social justice and active participation by everyone is necessary to effectively establish a society where social justice is the norm.…

    • 1748 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Powerful Essays