Rawls Flashcards
Rawls’ political philosophy (1/3)
A theory of political legitimacy and stability
Rawls’ political philosophy (2/3)
A set of principles for a just political system
Rawls’ political philosophy (3/3)
Style of argument for establishing these principles
Society (Rawls)
Society as a fair system of cooperation over time from one generation to the next
Between citizens as free and equal, reasonable and rational
Two moral powers
(Rationality, reasonableness)
A sense of justice
A conception of the good
Political conception of justice (3)
A moral conception worked out for a specific kind of subject
> Basic structure - (Political, economic, social institutions)
Political conception presented as a freestanding view
> A network of concepts in the public political culture
Content is expressed in terms of certain fundamental ideas seen as implicit in the public political culture of a democratic society
Most acceptable political conception of justice
Theory of justice as fairness
Well-ordered society (3)
- Everyone accepts, knows that eveyone else accepts the same political conception of justice and so the same principles of political justice
- Basic political and social institutions (basic structure) are publicly known to satisfy these principles
- Citizens have an effective sense of justice that enables them to understand and act according to these principles
Stability (Rawls) (1)
One conception of justice is relatively more stable
> when people are more willing to observe its requirements under conditions of a well-ordered society
> parties in the original position are to choose principles
- feasible
- enduring
within a well-ordered society
Stability (Rawls) (2)
Society: well-ordered and stable
> political conception of justice must be the subject of overlapping consensus
Overlapping consensus
It is endorsed, possibly for very different reasons, by all citizens
> hold different reasonable, comprehensive doctrines
Subject of justice (Rawls)
Basic structure (political, social institutions)
