A Theory of Justice: Original EditionJohn Rawls aims to express an essential part of the common core of the democratic tradition—justice as fairness—and to provide an alternative to utilitarianism, which had dominated the Anglo-Saxon tradition of political thought since the nineteenth century. Rawls substitutes the ideal of the social contract as a more satisfactory account of the basic rights and liberties of citizens as free and equal persons. “Each person,” writes Rawls, “possesses an inviolability founded on justice that even the welfare of society as a whole cannot override.” Advancing the ideas of Rousseau, Kant, Emerson, and Lincoln, Rawls’s theory is as powerful today as it was when first published. |
From inside the book
Results 1-5 of 91
... choice as economists think of it . At the same time , the philosophical problems receive careful treatment . Many persons have volunteered written comments on the several versions of the manuscript . Gilbert Harman's on the earliest one ...
... of Liberty 541 83. Happiness and Dominant Ends 548 84. Hedonism as a Method of Choice 554 85. The Unity of the Self 560 86. The Good of the Sense of Justice 567 87. Concluding Remarks on Justification 577 Index 589 XV Contents.
... choice which rational men would make in this hypothetical situation of equal liberty , assuming for the present that this choice problem has a solution , determines the principles of justice . In justice as fairness the original ...
... choices which persons might make together , namely , with the choice of the first principles of a conception of justice which is to regulate all subsequent criticism and reform of institutions . Then , having chosen a conception of ...
... choice of principles , however , is extremely difficult . I do not expect the answer I shall suggest to be convincing to everyone . It is , therefore , worth noting from the outset that justice as fairness , like other contract views ...