Analysis of Theory of Justice



Analysis of Theory of Justice

Introduction

Justice is defined as a moral quality of institutions and individuals, whereby they strive to preserve the rights of all, and provide every person with equal treatment. The most prominent among preceding justice concepts is that of utilitarianism, which suggests that rightness of social institutions and actions depends on the degree of human happiness promoted by them (Darity, 2008).

Throughout the past decades, multiple theorists and philosophers have been working on the promotion of justice from their own point of views, in the form of different proposed theories. However, among all these theories, some deserve extensive attention and regard since they go against the traditional concepts of utilitarianism within their theoretical principles. In order to have a correct understanding of the topic, an in depth study of relevant factors is required.

Discussion

John Bordley Rawls is counted among the most influential philosophers of the twentieth century. He is known for doing extensive work on the concept of justice within societies, and earned most of his popularity for his work A Theory of Justice published in 1971.

A Theory of Justice

In the form of A Theory of Justice, Rawls presented his attempt for the formulation of a philosophy of justice, and a theoretical program directed towards preservation of social justice and individual liberty by political structures. In a nutshell, the theory promotes the idea of justice as societal fairness.

Justice as Fairness

Rawls suggests that Justice is the first virtue of a social institution, and promotes the idea that society should be formed with institutions that promote social justice. Moreover, in Rawl's view, looking at justice as fairness is the only way of addressing to the problems of efficiency, coordination and stability (Galens, Smith and Thomason, 2002).

The Two Principles of Justice

In the view of Rawl's, his theory of justice rests on the pillars of two basic justice principles. The two principles of the Justice Theory suggest that:

Principle One: Liberty of an Individual

The first principle of the theory of justice suggests that an individual's liberty may be maximized, provided that it does not encroach upon the proposed freedoms of any other individual.

Principle Two: Provision of Equal Advantages

The second principle of Rawl's theory of justice is directed towards the idea that even the most materially and economically disadvantaged members of the society are provided for as best as possible. The point of notation in this second principle of Rawl is that, it proposes admitting possibilities of social and economic inequality; provided that the people at the lowest end of the spectrum are at least supported adequately (Galens, Smith and Thomason, 2002).

Critique of Traditional Utilitarianism

Utilitarianism was the dominant philosophical theory of justice in the Western Philosophy throughout the twentieth century. As mentioned by Rawls, Utilitarianism theory was developed in the nineteenth century by “the great utilitarians” including Adam Smith, David Hume, Jeremy Bentham and John Stuart Mill. Although the theory maintained its popularity for many decades, many theorists have been continuously regarding the utilitarian principle as ...