How useful is Rawls’ Original Position for theorizing about a just society?: A Discussion
Apr 2018 · GRIN Verlag
Ebook
5
Pages
family_home
Eligible
info
About this ebook
Seminar paper from the year 2018 in the subject Politics - General and Theories of International Politics, grade: High Merit, London School of Economics, language: English, abstract: The original position (“OP”) is an essential component of John Rawls’s account of justice as presented in his seminal A Theory of Justice. In this essay, I claim that 1) Rawls OP is (at least in societies shaped by an individual conception of personhood) more useful for theorising about a just society than utilitarianism; 2) the OP fails (like other methodologies) to be useful for universally valid theorising about a just society; 3) for a society shaped by a communal conception of personhood, utilitarianism is as good as the OP for theorizing about a just society. To do so, I first present Rawls’ OP. Then I point out why the OP is more useful than utilitarianism when theorising about a just society. Third, I briefly mention a common objection against the OP and defend it against it. Finally, I present what I call the wake-up argument and its implications for theorising about a just society behind the veil of ignorance.
About the author
Graduate student at the London School of Economics and Political Science
Rate this ebook
Tell us what you think.
Reading information
Smartphones and tablets
Install the Google Play Books app for Android and iPad/iPhone. It syncs automatically with your account and allows you to read online or offline wherever you are.
Laptops and computers
You can listen to audiobooks purchased on Google Play using your computer's web browser.
eReaders and other devices
To read on e-ink devices like Kobo eReaders, you'll need to download a file and transfer it to your device. Follow the detailed Help Center instructions to transfer the files to supported eReaders.
