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Lecture 6
John Rawls
Justifying government
Question:
How can the power of government be
justified?
“Contractarianism”
Contractarian answer: legitimacy of
government lies in the consent of
those who are to be governed.
Hypothetical contract
Limits of contracts
If we give our consent to something, are
we obliged to accept whatever we have
agreed? If we agree to X, does that make
X fair?
(Price-gouging, surrogacy, ‘desperate
exchanges’),
Contractarianism (Rawls’ version)
To which principles of justice would we
agree if we were to choose them from
behind a “veil of ignorance”?
Veil of ignorance
If we had to choose the institutions of a
society in which we were to live without
knowing who we would be or which
social position we would occupy, which
institutions would we choose?
‘Original position’
Utilitarianism
Would we choose utilitarianism as a
basis for the principles of justice?
Rawls’ answer: No
Why not utilitarianism?
Utilitarianism might be attractive to
egalitarians because it allows
redistribution from rich to poor people if
utility is increased thereby.
But what about minority rights, forced
expropriation, etc.?
Rawls’ 2 principles of justice
1) Each person has equal right to liberties
compatible with similar liberties for
everyone else.
2) Social and economic inequality must be
(a) to the advantage of the least well
off, and (b) ‘attached to positions and
offices open to all’.
Rawls’ first principle
Basic liberties:
a) Political (right to vote and stand for
office)
b) Freedom of speech, thought, religion
c) Freedom of occupation
d) Right to own property
e) Freedom from arbitrary arrest
Rawls’ second principle
The ‘difference principle’:
Inequalities are permitted only if the less
well off will benefit from them.
(‘Maximin’ principle)
Examples of inequality:
1) Income and wealth
2) Positions of power in hierarchical
organizations
What makes the ‘original position’ fair?
Rawls’ ‘original position’ is characterized by
equality amongst the parties thereto
because they are ignorant on their personal
characteristics.
The parties to the OP must therefore choose
social & political institutions impartially.
Four societies
1) Feudal (unequal opportunity according to
birth)
2) Free market (unequal opportunity according
socio-economic position)
3) Meritocratic (unequal opportunity according
to distribution of natural talents)
4) Egalitarian.
Natural talents
Does an individual deserve to keep the
higher income she might earn from the
natural talents she has?
Rawls’ answer: no
Compare Nozick’s Wilt Chamberlain
example
Desert and entitlement
What do individuals deserve in Rawls’ schema?