NCJ Number
116125
Journal
Philosophy and Public Affairs Volume: 18 Issue: 1 Dated: (Winter 1989) Pages: 3-30
Date Published
1989
Length
28 pages
Annotation
The principles of justice, according to John Rawls, are to be understood as regulating the distribution of benefits. Since greater benefits will accrue to some and lesser to others, there will be potential conflict of interest over what principles to adopt.
Abstract
Consensus on principles, however arises from a momentary convergence of prudential judgment, under conditions of extreme uncertainty. This poses a problem of stability, in that schemes of cooperation may not be in equilibrium. Stability requires that persons possess a sense of justice: an effective desire to act as the principles of justice require. In an analysis of Rawls' evaluation, it is argued that within society in which there is pluralism with respect to final ends and when society is perceived as a common means to personal ends, a stable and truly efficient social contract will be possible only insofar as participants can develop and effectively express a communitarian commitment to their mutual well-being. Further, for those who have achieved a sense of community, the most effective way to express it is to regulate their affairs with reference to Rawl's principle of justice as fairness, interpreted as an egalitarian-efficiency principle. 50 footnotes.