John Rawls and the Social Contract

John Rawls and the Social Contract

ABSTRACT. Adapting the traditional social contract approach of earlier years to a more contemporary use, John Rawls initiated an unparaleled revitalization of social philosophy. Instead of arguing for the justification of civil authority or the form that it should take, Professor Rawls is more interested in the principles that actuate basic social institutions —he presupposes authority and instead focuses on its animation. In short, Rawls argues that “justice as fairness” should be that basic animating principle.

Imagine that rational actor X has been charged with the responsibility of developing the guiding principles for a totaly new type of social contract for today’s society. Is there a way for actor X to perform this task in a truly equitable manner? Consider that “with respect to any complex mater of deep human importance there is n o ‘innocent eye’ —no way of seeing the world that is entirely neutral and free of cultural shaping.” 1 As an entrenched member of a particular culture the complete removal of personal biases and prejudices from within the human psyche is not possible; nonetheless, it would of course be necessary to take steps to at least minimize their effects. In his 1971 book, A Theory of Justice , John Rawls suggests that exactly this type of reduction is possible by figuratively stepping behind a ‘veil of ignorance’ int o what he labels the ‘original position’ —this paper is an introduction to the contractarian thinking of John Rawls and its relation to the original position as expressed in his 1971 book, A Theory of Justice.

At the outset it should be noted, “the origina l position is not, of course, thought of as an actual historical state of affairs, mu...

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...s: An Aristotelian Approach.” In Ethics: The Big Questions , edit ed by James P. Sterba, 259 -275. Malden, Massachusets: Blackwel Publishers Ltd, 1998.

Petit, Philip, and Chandran Kukathas. Rawls: A Theory of Justice and its Critics . Stanford, California: Stanford University Press, 1990.

Rawls, John. A Theory of J ustice. Cambridge, Massachusetts: The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 1971.

Additional Works Referenced

Class notes from POSC 201, Introduction to Western Political Theory , by Dr. Scot Hammond, Department of Political Science, James Madison University. Spring Semester 2002.

Class notes from PHIL 330, Moral Theory, by Dr. Richard Lippke, Department of Philosophy, and James Madison University. Spring Semester 2002.

The Policy Library. Resource Page for John Rawls.

<htp://www.policy library.com/rawls/index.htm>. November 2002.