"Justice as Fairness"

Paper Summary:

This paper examines how John Rawls reworks his theses contained in his previous works with "Justice as Fairness: A Restatement". It looks at how Rawls' political philosophy is a modern formulation, presupposing a democratic foundation, which seeks to define justice as a purely political concept and how he attempts to divest the concept of justice as fairness from its moral underpinnings. It analyzes how Rawls reformulates the basic theories contained within his former works in order to distinguish the political from the moral or philosophical spheres.

From the Paper:

"Among Rawls' fundamental ideas is the concept of the basic structure upon which a democratic society is based. The basic structure is a cooperative, collective underpinning of a democratic society. As such, it is informed and rational, applicable to all citizens. Citizens of a just society are both free and equal, not judged on the basis of their gender, ethnicity, race, history, or economic class. The key to a fair, just, cooperative society is basically a social contract. This contract, like any other contract, is a mutual agreement between parties. Its aim is the common good, regardless of any differences or dissention between parties. Because pluralism is an inescapable and welcome facet of a democratic society, disagreement and dissention are inevitable."

More papers on "Justice as Fairness":

• Book Review # 42628 : "Justice as Fairness: A Restatement"
• Analytical Essay # 55294 : "Environmental Justice"
• Persuasive Essay # 94838 : "Meaning of Justice"

APA Citation:

MLA Citation: