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. |
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... depends essentially on how fundamental rights and duties are assigned and on the economic opportunities and social conditions in the various sectors of society . The scope of our inquiry is limited in two ways . First of all , I am ...
... depends upon it ( 8 $ 55–59 ) . At least , I shall assume that a deeper understanding can be gained in no other way , and that the nature and aims of a perfectly just society is the fundamental part of the theory of justice . Now ...
... depends upon a scheme of cooperation without which no one could have a satisfactory life , the division of advantages should be such as to draw forth the willing cooperation of everyone taking part in it , including those less well ...
... depends on the nature of that thing , and that the plurality of distinct persons with separate systems of ends is an essential feature of human societies , we should not expect the principles of social choice to be utilitarian . To be ...
... depends directly and solely upon the levels of satisfaction or dissatisfaction of individuals . Thus if men take a certain pleasure in discriminating against one another , in subjecting others to a lesser liberty as a means of enhancing ...