Blog #8

“The Theory of Justice” by John Rawls has some very solid concepts and ideas. In this piece he states that he is trying to present a new concept of justice (Jacobus 199). I think the key to his concept of justice revolves around a contract which he talks about having two main parts. However, to understand the two main points I think it is important to have some idea of what his concept of “justice as fairness” is.
To me his idea of “justice as fairness” seems to be the understanding he discusses as being between free rational people in a society who set equality as a fundamental goal of that society (Jacobus 199). He believes that this understanding between the people should lead to a contract between them that is based on equality. I think one of the most intriguing things about his concept is the idea of the “veil of ignorance” (Jacobus 200). The veil of ignorance is basically a way to ensure that a person’s own biased views, status, opinion, etc. aren’t known to that person so that they can make choices that are not prejudice due to the fact they don’t know where they fall in society. This concept I believe actually allows for people to make decisions that are not selfish or self-motivated which in turn will probably lead to a society that is truly based on fairness. Since Rawls idea of justice is fairness, I think this “veil of ignorance” is key to seeing that concept become reality.
Rawls also goes on to say that if a society is based on fairness as justice and a contract between the free rational people of that society is made that those who are in the society should have no problem following the laws (Jacobus 200-201). I agree with this thought because if it is agreed that what is fair is just, then a person who agrees with the terms of the contract should have no problem following it because then the terms are just. So I think Rawls articulates his idea of “justice as fairness” through hypothetical situations rooted in equality through his concept of the “veil of ignorance.”

Works Cited