~ How does Rawls articulate his idea of “justice as fairness”?
For the first time after already having to write seven blogs, this one is very hard to understand and I have to say I am very confused by it. In the readings by John Rawls he explains a theory he wrote on justice. In his theory he talks about how his idea of justice is fairness. He explains “In order to do this we are not to think of the original contract as one to enter a particular society or to set up a particular from of government. Rather, the guiding idea is that the principles of justice for the basic structure of society are the object of the original agreement.” Throughout the rest of the reading by Rawls I do not understand his theory or what he is trying to get across. Even after reading over and over again, to me it does not make any sense on how his theory would work. To me it just sounds like another Karl Marx reading. How someone has found out the best of doing things. I don’t know why people in this world try to sit down and think of different ways we could run our government and make it better, its not like they would listen to any ideas. I hope later in the future someone can explain to me better what Rawls is trying to explain about his theory. Or maybe the fifth or sixth of me reading again and the light bulb in my head will light up, but as I stand now, I do not understand his reading at all.
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2 comments:
Rawls is indeed difficult reading. Many a doctoral dissertation has been written about various parts of Rawls' Theory. That's what makes it a classic political science textbook. If you really want to understand it, let what you've read sink in a bit and then reread the entire book next summer. And then again when you graduate. And then again in ten years. And read what other educated people have written about it. Read what Rawls himself has written about it since it was published in 1971. Talk about it with others who have read it. This is how one understands difficult and complex subjects.
". . .I don’t know why people in this world try to sit down and think of different ways we could run our government and make it better, its not like they would listen to any ideas. . ."
Nice attitude. If the entire citizenry felt as you do, then you'd be correct that nothing would ever change. Perhaps spending a little more time engaged in civic activities with people who actually care about our future as a democracy would be really good for you. Come out from behind the self absorbed life and get in the game--you'll find that really SMART people are engaged in and committed to making the longest standing democracy in the world even better, even for the self absorbed citizens who don't deserve it. Pick up a real newspaper and start reading.
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