Given that wealth and power beget wealth and power, we in the US seem some distance from our core value of "Justice for All"

Given that wealth and power beget wealth and power, we in the US seem some distance from our core value of "Justice for All"

The ethical foundations of Rawls' theory

Rawl's theory of justice makes an attempt to solve the issue of distributive justice. In his theory of Justice, Rawl argues for a principled reconciliation of equality and liberty. Equality and liberty are the main ethical foundations of his theory (Oyeshile, 2008). According to Rawl's theory, every person should possess the right to have the most extensive basic liberty that is compatible with others' liberty. The second principle states that economic and social inequalities should be arranged in a manner that they provide the most benefits to the least advantaged people, and should be open to everybody under the conditions of fair equality (MacKinnon, 2011).

Implementation of meritocracy in US by allowing everyone an equal opportunity to access the positions of power within our society

Meritocracy is a social system within which people earn rewards in accordance with their efforts and abilities. Meritocracy offers an incentive for individual achievement which provide benefits to the resources and collective progress of the society. In such a system, everyone has an equal chance of succeeding by virtue of individual merit. In the United States, a social system based on meritocracy is considered as an American Dream. The main beliefs of this dream include that success is based on moral virtue, individuals can succeed on the basis of their autonomous actions and decisions, and that equal opportunity applies to everyone irrespective of his social identity or origin (Meroe, n.d.). In the US, widespread acceptance of meritocratic values exists irrespective of real conditions of unequal distribution of ...