Theory of Social Justice
There are many ways to view the definition of justice. From all the text and educational videos I viewed in this chapter helped me understand that justice comes down to your personal views and how you think society should work. The twentieth century philosopher John Rawl believes that justice should be fair in all aspects. From a young age Rawl learned what living in an injustice world really was. He lived through poverty, the Second World War and even the unfortunate death of his brother from an illness passed onto him. These events in his life inspired him to use the power of his ideas to change the cruel world he was living in.
His popularity grew with the publication of his book “A theory of Justice” in 1971. This book consists of the three parts; Theory, institutions and end. His argument was that in a fair society there would be justice. This was the fundamental skeleton of any society. He created one of the greatest experiments in the history of political thought. In part one, chapter three; he welcomes “The veil of Ignorance” idea. Rawl states (1971) “They do not know how the various alternatives will affect their own particular case and they are obliged to evaluate principles solely on the basis of general considerations” (p.118).
This idea asks us to imagine being behind a curtain of ignorance, so we don’t know what circumstances we are coming into the world. We would only know the facts about science and the theories of justice. Rawl expects that behind this idea people would choose the life with fair justice and one that provides basic human rights for all. This is relevant to the current debate on universal healthcare. Just like Rawls theory many people and politicians believe we have the right to have free or affordable healthcare. This view is more of a democratic stand point and one that personally support. There is also the opposite side that many republicans agree with, that it is not fair to make it an obligation for the wealthier people to pay more taxes to assist the less fortunate.
This was a very interesting topic to write about knowing all the unfairness that is going on today all around the world. For example, I am personally impacted by many events that are going on today in Venezuela. Venezuelans are fighting for justice and basic human rights. It is very sad to see a person of authority take away the basic needs of humans. You can see how they are surviving not living a life of happiness and freedom. It is even more heartbreaking that Venezuelans are not the only ones going hungry and lacking basic needs. John Rawl had a very open and straightforward idea because he lived through hardships and for that I give him my respects.
