A Theory of Justice

American philosopher John Rawls (1921-2002) published A Theory of Justice in 1971, and the work has become a foundational text in 20th-century political philosophy. A Theory of Justice argues in support of Rawls’s theory of justice-as-fairness, which is based on basic equal rights, equal opportunity, and helping those least advantaged in society. This approach, based on morality and ethics, is presented as an alternative to the theory of utilitarianism, in which the ends justify the means. The work’s main themes include Balancing Individual Rights and the Common Good, The Necessity of Social Consensus, and The Importance of Institutions in Maintaining Fairness. Rawls’s work politically aligns with liberalism and progressivism, and Rawls is considered one of the most influential philosophers of the 20th century. His two other main works are Political Liberalism (1993), which is about how society can advance despite its differences, and The Law of Peoples (1999), which addresses global justice.

Summary

A Theory of Justice is divided into three main parts, each consisting of three chapters, and each chapter contains multiple titled sections. The book contains 87 sections overall. The work lays out a plan to achieve social justice in a way that benefits everyone, especially the least advantaged in society.

Rather than focusing on a particular society, Rawls creates a hypothetical model, which can be used to create a just society in any context. To do this, Rawls employs a thought experiment called the “original position,” in which a group of people who cannot benefit from the policies they choose construct a society in which they would want to live. The group’s total lack of knowledge, including which positions in society they would occupy, is termed “the veil of ignorance” and is an essential aspect of the experiment. Otherwise, self-interest would determine the policies the individuals choose. This thought experiment aims to offer an alternative to utilitarian philosophy, which states that the ends justify the means if those ends serve the greater good. A Theory of Justice also addresses social contract theory, which states that individuals who live in a society agree to give up some of their rights in exchange for being protected by the state. Rawls’s argument against this is based on the ethics of German philosopher Immanuel Kant (1724-1804), who states that actions should be judged by an absolute moral and rational standard regardless of their outcome.

Rawls provides two principles to structure a just society. The first is the equal liberty principle, which states that each person should have the same claim to a full spectrum of basic rights, including the freedoms of speech, assembly, and thought. The second is the difference principle, which states that social and economic inequalities should be arranged so that they benefit the least-advantaged members of society. Additionally, all of a society’s opportunities should be equally open to all.

Rawls’s concept of a just society is based on what he terms “justice as fairness.” In this model, justice is understood as the fairness of the social contract, which means that the state would not take advantage of its power over individuals. Such a society must be formed under conditions of total equality, requiring the framers to begin from the original position and operate under the veil of ignorance. A Theory of Justice articulates justice as fairness and the text’s other concepts in three parts.

Part 1, “Theory,” establishes the text’s theoretical structure and provides detailed discussions of justice as fairness, the two principles of justice, and the original position. Chapter 1 lays out the role of justice in society, justifies the use of the original position, and discusses how justice as fairness relates to classical utilitarianism. In particular, it argues whether individual rights or the greater good should have priority in regard to social justice. Chapter 2 introduces the role of institutions in establishing justice and details Rawls’s first and second principles of justice. Equal opportunities, how to establish expectations for fairness, and the duty of individuals in society are some particular aspects of this argument. Chapter 3 outlines the original position and the veil of ignorance, arguing for why these conditions are necessary to construct a just society. It also defines important terms in political philosophy, such as the concept of right, rationality, utility, impartiality, and benevolence.

Part 2, “Institutions,” establishes the institutions of justice and focuses on equal liberty, distributing economic resources, and the concepts of duty and obligation. Chapter 4 lays out the four stages of creating a just system, beginning with the concept of liberty and moving on to discuss tolerance versus intolerance, the rule of law, and a Kantian interpretation of justice as fairness. Chapter 5 focuses on achieving justice in economic systems—namely, who should get priority and how to achieve economic justice across different generations. Chapter 6 ends the section with a discussion of duty and obligation, arguing the principle of natural duty and whether individuals have a duty to comply with unjust laws. It introduces the concepts of civil disobedience and conscientious refusal and explores the role these actions have in society.

Part 3, “Ends,” examines goodness as rationality, the sense of justice, and the good of justice. Chapter 7 returns to Kantian principles, defining a theory of good and equating goodness with rationality. It introduces Aristotelian theory about what makes a good person, considering qualities like self-respect, excellence, and shame. Chapter 8 examines the different aspects of morality in society, including the morality of authority and moral psychology. Chapter 9 highlights the concepts of autonomy, objectivity, happiness, and hedonism. It discusses the problem of envy interfering with equality and concludes by justifying the foundation of justice as fairness over other concepts of justice.