A Theory Of Justice By John Rawls Summary

546 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Essays on the theory of justice by john rawls

In “A Theory of Justice” we are confronted with the position of “justice as fairness” and Rawls’s argument toward a more just society where everyone has equal opportunity. However, Rawls has difficulty realizing in his argument that the modern liberal society, to which he is applying his principles are in fashion gender-structured. Rawls has taken this tradition of sexism for granted, and fails to consider how his theory of justice is to apply to women, and the ‘family’. In this essay I will critique John Rawls on gender and the family, I will look at aspects of Rawls’s theory, and the difficulties that arise in regard to gender and family, because of his ambiguous language, and why they must be corrected.
Rawls’s “Original Position” might be his single most important contribution to moral and political theory, as we know it. However its basis does not consider its application to women and the family, and if they take part in “a basic social structure” as defined by Rawls. I found it very difficult to be sure of this. Rawls says this regarding families and the basic structure...

Show More
Related

  • A Voice From The South

    560 Words  | 2 Pages

    The first half of her book is concerned with the role of women in society. She compares a healthy family structure to a democratic society. In both cases, men and women have distinct roles they must fulfill in order to create a balanced, healthy environment. Since political participation for women was limited at the time of Cooper’s writing, she argued that not only were women suffering, but so was all of society. She argued that women’s sensitivity to emotion and intuition and their nurturing nature would balance out society that was controlled by aggressive and reason-oriented men. She argues that men and women are equals but their responsibilities to society are distinctive.

    Read More

  • Analysis Of Okin's 'Forty Acres And A Mule For Women'

    1102 Words  | 3 Pages

    By building upon Rawls's Theory of Justice to address gender injustices, Okin’s liberal-feminist work has retained an enduring relevance in political philosophy, as many of the gender inequalities she addresses, such as women undertaking the majority of unpaid domestic labour, still exist today. Her work has had a major significance in political theory due to her illuminating the tendency for liberal philosophers to be gender-blind. This essay intends to firstly summarise the Rawlsian feminist theory in Okin’s ‘Forty acres and a mule’ for women: Rawls and feminism and secondly critically assess whether, due to her Western perspective and narrow definition of the ‘family’, her work is too limited to evoke a change within a patriarchal society

    Read More

  • Rawls Theory Of Justice

    3346 Words  | 7 Pages

    INTRODUCTION John Rawls most famous work, A Theory of Justice, deals with a complex system of rules and principles. It introduces principles of justice to the world, principles which Rawls argues, are meant to create and strengthen equality while removing the inequality which exists within society. These principles are both meant as standalone laws and regulations, but they can be joined as well. The main function of the first principle is to ensure the liberty of every individual, while the second principle is meant to be the force for the removal of inequality through what Rawls calls distributive justice. I will begin this paper by making clear that this is a critique of Rawls and his principle of difference and not an attempt at a neutral analysis.

    Read More

  • The Great Lawsuit by Margaret Fuller

    1002 Words  | 3 Pages

    Throughout the centuries there have been many groups pursuing equal rights for themselves. These groups feel that they are excluded from privileges others possess and are subject to injustices that others are not. These groups feel they deserve better and that their presence in the world is unequal to others’. In the United States a large percentage of women started to feel they warranted equal rights to men. Margaret Fuller was among the supporters of the movement and published ground-breaking article called “The Great Lawsuit.” In “The Great Lawsuit”, Margaret Fuller tries to stop the great inequalities between men and women by describing great marriages where the husband and wife are equal, by stating how society constricts the women’s true inner genius, and by recording admirable women who stand up in an effort for equality.

    Read More

  • Effects of Patriarchal Family Structure

    695 Words  | 2 Pages

    Mill is concerned with the political repercussions of the unequal status of women within families. In a patriarchal family structure, wives are kept ignorant about politics and issues that occur outside of their homes and do not directly involve their families. Mill laments that a wife “neither knows nor cares which is the right side in politics, but she knows what will being in money or invitations, give her husband a title, her son a place, or her daughter a good marriage” (Mill 174). Although their ignorance is not their fault, this narrow viewpoint leads women to focus solely on themselves and their loved ones, and strive to protect or increase the happiness only within the family unit. Their husbands and children will observe and internalize this self-centeredness, and when members of these families leave their homes to interact with the rest of society, no one will concentrate as much on the common good and become quite selfish. The patriarchal family structure also inhibits the progress of the society, which is a value that Mill holds in high esteem; half of the population would be unable to contribute ideas that could lead to improvements in politics and government as well as in other areas.

    Read More

  • Women’s Equality in Ethical Theory and Perspective

    2226 Words  | 5 Pages

    Society has long since considered women the lessor gender and one of the most highly debated topics in society through the years has been that of women’s equality. The debates began over the meaning between a man and woman’s morality and a woman’s rights and obligations in society. After the 19th Amendment was sanctioned around 1920, the ball started rolling on women’s suffrage. Modern times have brought about the union of these causes, but due to the differences between the genetic makeup and socio demographics, the battle over women’s equality issue still continues to exist. While men have always held the covenant role of the dominant sex, it was only since the end of the 19th century that the movement for women’s equality and the entitlement of women have become more prevalent. “The general consensus at the time was that men were more capable of dealing with the competitive work world they now found themselves thrust into. Women, it was assumed, were unable to handle the pressures outside of the home. They couldn’t vote, were discourages from working, and were excluded from politics. Their duty to society was raising moral children, passing on the values that were unjustly thrust upon them as society began to modernize” (America’s Job Exchange, 2013). Although there have been many improvements in the changes of women’s equality towards the lives of women’s freedom and rights in society, some liberals believe that women have a journey to go before they receive total equality. After WWII, women continued to progress in there crusade towards receiving equality in many areas such as pay and education, discrimination in employment, reproductive rights and later was followed by not only white women but women from other nationalities ...

    Read More

  • Loss of Innocence in Raisin in the Sun and To Kill a Mockingbird

    1968 Words  | 4 Pages

    John Rawls, A Theory of Justice (revised edition, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1999), p. 266.

    Read More

  • Analysis Of Kevin Boyle's Arc Of Justice

    1630 Words  | 4 Pages

    The cover of Kevin Boyle’s, Arc of Justice: A Saga of Race, Civil Rights, and Murder in the Jazz Age, features a worn black-and-white photograph of what looks like a packed courtroom, with four men in the foreground looking off to the right, as if awaiting a verdict. All of them, three white and one black, wearing suits, have their faces scrubbed out, as if someone had taken an eraser to them while the photograph was still wet. Similar to its cover, the 80-year-old Ossian Sweet case has nearly been wiped out of American history. The author, Kevin Boyle, is an associate professor of history and best known for his books on the labor movement. Boyle finishes reconstructing the Ossian Sweet case so we have a clear, precise snapshot of an incident

    Read More

  • Module 7 Assignment Paper

    609 Words  | 2 Pages

    The views of justice of John Rawls share a lot in common with Karl Marx's philosophical theories. First off, Rawls rejects the utilitarian viewpoint when it comes to justice. While utilitarianism would see justice as what is for the general good of society, Rawls would see justice as what is for the general good of everyone equally. Rawls' view of justice also stems from his equal liberty principle, which suggests that every human should be entitle to equal liberties in a just society. Without this principle, in Rawls' eyes no society can be considered just. Henceforth Rawls' placed a large burden on the shoulders of the state when it comes to ensuring these equal liberties for individuals. Rawls also would see the redistribution of wealth as fair.

    Read More

  • Eleanor Marx

    4930 Words  | 10 Pages

    The text of “The Woman Question” is ardent in its defense of economics and women. For Eleanor, the only way to improve the status of women was to tie it to the class movement. “The question is one of economics. The position of women rests, as everything in our complex modern society rests, on an economic basis” (Marx 1886). With the phrase, “everything in our complex modern society,” Eleanor not only casts herself as an economist, but establishes that any venture, be it social or academic, is fundamentally economic in nature. Thus, once she establishes that feminism is inherently an economic issue, the connection between her father’s socialist theories and her own feminism becomes clear.

    Read More

  • Individual Liberty: Thomas Hobbes and John Rawls

    2100 Words  | 5 Pages

    Individual liberty is the freedom to act and believe as one pleases. It is a widely controversial issue when it comes to the power of the government policing over individual�s freedoms. In this paper, I am going to compare two well known philosophers, Thomas Hobbes and John Rawls. In part one, I will explain the political and social positions taken by each philosopher. I will explain how Thomas Hobbes is associated with the �social contract theory,� and how John Rawls� theory of government is a �theory of justice.� In doing so, I will describe their different viewpoints on the government and its power over the people. In Part two, I will describe the differences between Hobbes and Rawls. I will argue that Rawls position on the government is the most reasonable, and I will explain why I believe so. In part three, I will explain my own theory and viewpoint with the example of sex laws, including prostitution. With this example, I will tell how and why I believe individual liberty is important. In part four, I will explain how someone might disagree with my position. I will explain how conservative individuals would argue that the government should regulate sexual activity to protect the greater good of society. Finally, I will conclude with discussing the power of the government and individual liberties in today�s society.

    Read More

  • John Rawls’ A Theory of Justice

    959 Words  | 2 Pages

    John Rawls’ A Theory of Justice holds that a rational, mutually disinterested individual in the Original Position and given the task of establishing societal rules to maximise their own happiness throughout life, is liable to choose as their principles of justice a) guaranteed fundamental liberties and b) the nullification of social and economic disparities by universal equality of opportunities, which are to be of greatest benefit to the least advantaged members of society , . Rawls’ system of societal creation has both strengths and weaknesses, but is ultimately sound.

    Read More

  • The Philosophies Of John Rawls Vs. Nozick

    792 Words  | 2 Pages

    John Rawls and Robert Nozick both provide compelling and thought provoking theories regarding the values of liberty and equality. Rawls focuses on both liberty and equality while Nozick theorizes exclusively on liberty. The ideas of Rawls and Nozick have multiple strengths as well as weaknesses which allow for debate and comparison between the two theories.

    Read More

  • The Idea Of Justice By Amartya Sen Summary

    1353 Words  | 3 Pages

    “The Idea of Justice” by Amartya Sen is a book that discusses how justice is defined and approached. Sen is a professor at Harvard University and the 1998 recipient of the Nobel Prize in Economics (Sen, 2009). His other written works include topics on Indian history and culture, social choice theory, and welfare economics (Encyclopaedia Britannica, 2014).

    Read More

  • Rawls Justice Is Fairness

    1008 Words  | 3 Pages

    & nbsp;                                       Take Home Exam # 1: Essay-2 John Rawls never claimed to know the only way to start a society, but he did suggest a very sound and fair way to do so. He based his scenario on two principles of justice. His first principle of justice was that everyone should have the same rights as others.

    Read More

More about A Theory Of Justice By John Rawls Summary

Open Document