Rawls' Principles of Justice

Given the opportunity to determine the basic structure of society, I would try to come up with a structure that would benefit everyone not just those at the top of the ladder. Today, mainly because of how our society is shaped, those at the bottom are almost literally stuck at the bottom against a double edged sword. They try to climb out of the pit of poverty only to be held back by the pit of poverty. We have people who are famous for being famous, while people like teachers and doctors, who actually benefit society, have a much smaller salary and standing in society. A society in which our rights could be exercised up until the point when two people’s rights would clash would be the most beneficial. Examining society Rawls principles of justice are the best structure for society.

To use Rawls principles of justice one must first enter the original position. The original position according to Rawls is “the appropriate initial status quo which insures that the fundamental agreements reached in it are fair.” (Rawls: Justice as Fairness, From a Theory of Justice. pg. 489) What Rawls is trying to do is create a position in which a person removes themselves from all forms of bias. Potential forms of bias are race, color, gender, social status, and things such as our own theory of the good; are what need to be removed from the original position and placed outside the “Veil of Ignorance”. One would be removing bias from themselves, or stripping away the layers that could form a judgment based on something that would favor one group from another. Potential sources of bias are also known as what are not allowed behind “veil of Ignorance”. However, to make a valid and sound conclusion on something one must be knowledgeable enough to ma...

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...the bourgeoisie or rich, control the proletariat or poor. Nozick could be seen as a Marxist due to the very nature that according to his principles of justice allow for an employer to very largely profit off the hard work and dedication of an employee, who is making a much smaller profit, as long as the profit is justly acquired and held. Nozick’s theory would also remove the taxation of the rich to an equal taxation of both the poor and rich.

Works Cited

Nozick, Robert. "The Entitlement Thoery of Justice, from Anarch, State, and Utopia."

Philosophical Problems. By Laurence Bonjour and Ann Baker. Ed. Eric Stano. 2nd ed. New York:

Pearson, 2008. 476-482. Print.

Rawls, John. “Justice As Fairness, From A Theory Of Justice.”

Philosophical Problems. By Laurence Bonjour and Ann baker. Ed. Eric Stano. 2nd ed. New York:

Pearson, 2008. 4854-494. Print