John Rawls Distributive Justice Analysis

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As members, it is our expectation that the foundation of our society is constructed based off the origins of justice. Starting from an early age, we have been taught to recite the Pledge of Allegiance of the United States that promises, “liberty and justice for all.” It is not until we are older however, that we begin to question if and how society enforces distributive justice and the impact that social institutions play in our lives. The philosophers, John Rawls and Robert Nozick, devise two opposing perspectives to reach the same end, when tackling the controversial issue of injustice. This paper will first analyze the positions of Rawls and defend Rawls’ position by disproving Nozick’s counterexample for committing a fallacy of composition. …show more content…

Social identities that classify who people are influence their behavior and judgments and are often the source of inequality. If people were to overlook the barrier of these distinctions, it would leave them with only rationality to reason with. Eliminating these biases, Rawls argues that the playing field is neutralized because “no one is able to design principles to favor his particular …show more content…

The counterexample begins with a just society of members, including the legendary basketball player Wilt Chamberlain. Chamberlain has signed with a team following the arrangement that 25 cents of each game ticket will be directly distributed to him. His fans, including the low tier of society, happily buy tickets to watch his games, putting Chamberlain at a greater advantage earning $250,000 by the end of the season. A patterned theory would reason that the previous egalitarian society has transformed into a non-egalitarian one from unequal distribution in the population. Nozick emphasizes the features of a free society, arguing that the series of transactions was done voluntary and immorally and cannot be classified as unjust. He concludes that an end state theory fails because those who are worse off give quarters to someone who is better off, resulting in a different situation that undermines the

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