Rawls' Libertarianism
Rawlsian libertarianism argues that just principles are those that free and equal people would choose for themselves under fair conditions, coining the term “justice as fairness.” This theory requires the veil of ignorance, a thought experiment used to ensure impartiality, in order to validate this ideology. Two core principles are equal: basic liberties for all, and the understanding of social and economic inequalities to inform policies that benefit the least advantages, allowing for equality of opportunity. In Political Liberalism, Rawls further develops the concepts of public reason and overlapping consensus to explain how democratic societies can remain stable despite deep moral disagreement.
John Rawls — A Theory of Justice excerpts
In A Theory of Justice, John Rawls introduces his theory of “justice as fairness” by exploring what governing policies citizens would choose under a fair and equal society. He models these conditions through the conception of the veil of ignorance. Under the veil of ignorance, individual characteristics such as social status, economic status, and environment are hidden. Then, the now completely equal individuals chose what policies they believe are the most fair. In this way, policies that advance only a certain group social or economic status at the injury of others would not be chosen, but instead a set of codes that are deemed the most fair and acceptable by people in an equal society. This transforms justice from an exertion of power into a fair agreement. Rawls asserts that rational, equal individuals would choose principles that secure equal basic liberties and preserve equality of opportunity. Justice then structures societal institutions in a way that free and equal persons could reasonably accept. By grounding justice in fairness rather than outcomes or history, Rawls offers a systematic alternative to both utilitarianism and libertarianism.
John Rawls — Political Liberalism
In Political Liberalism, Rawls addresses the primary challenge to his earlier work: how a society can remain just in the face of reasonable pluralism. Reasonable pluralism is the pervasiveness and inevitability of conflict in society, whether that emerges through incompatible morals, differing religions, and more. Rawls determines that public reason must define political legitimacy, introducing a shared framework of justification appropriate to a democratic society. Public reason requires those in power to justify political decisions, particularly policies in relation with constitutions and basic liberties, with reasons that other free and equal citizens would be able to reasonably accept. This reflects the theory of reciprocity, according to which political power is legitimate only when exercised on terms that all can endorse as equals. Rawls puts forward the idea of an overlapping consensus, in which citizens with differing personal doctrines nonetheless converge on a shared political conception of justice, each for their own reasons. As Rawls emphasizes, such a consensus allows a society to unite stably without requiring agreement on ultimate moral truths.