A Theory of Justice, (original edition) by John Rawls
Tuesday, September 18, 2007
A Theory of Justice
Justice is the first virtue of social institutions, as truth is of systems of thought. A theory however elegant and economical must be rejected or revised if it is untrue: likewise laws and institutions no matter how efficient and well-arranged must be reformed or abolished if they are unjust. Each person possesses an inviolability founded in justice that even the welfare of society as a whole cannot override. For this reason justice denies that the loss of freedom for some is made right by a greater good shared by others. It does not allow that the sacrifices imposed on a few are outweighed by the larger sum of advantages enjoyed by many. Therefore in a just society the liberties of equal citizenship are taken as settled: the rights secured by justice are not subject to political bargaining or to the caculus of social interests. The only thing that permits us to acquiesce in an erroneous theory is the lack of a better one: analogously, an injustice is tolerable only when it is necessary to avoid an even greater injustice. Being first virtues of human activities, truth and justice are uncompromising.
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2 comments:
Hi Marvin,
Been reading this book of John Rawls myself for about a month (everyday!). It's really wonderfully constructed, like a mathematical treatise. The Right has just Priority over the Good! Justice as fairness, conceived in an original position. It's a contractarian theory that appeals to me greatly and makes utilitarianism intellectually an inferior conception. It also explains to me finally, the true meaning of the phrase ALL MEN ARE CREATED EQUAL.
I am applying the concepts of this book to a thorough refutation of the SC decision on IPRA.
DJB,
This book should win over the remaining communists in this country. It's a great read indeed.
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