John Rawls and the Concept of Fairness

Introduction

• Societal injustice is a common feeling.
• Difficulty in articulating this feeling in a rational manner.
• Introduction of John Rawls as a solution to understanding and addressing societal unfairness.

Background of John Rawls

• Born in 1921 in Baltimore, Maryland.
• Early exposure to poverty, personal loss, and the atrocities of WWII.
• Motivated to enter academia to enact change through ideas.
• Published A Theory of Justice in 1971, gaining widespread acclaim.
• Recognized by Bill Clinton as the greatest political philosopher of the 20th century.

Rawls' Key Insights

• Current societal structures are inherently unfair.
• Statistics reveal significant disparities in life expectancy and income.
• The American dream creates a false narrative that hard work guarantees success.

The Problem of Injustice

• The rarity of true rags-to-riches stories.
• Political discourse often ignores systemic issues, focusing instead on minutiae.
• Need for a straightforward way to demonstrate and rectify societal unfairness.

The Veil of Ignorance

• Rawls' thought experiment designed to analyze societal fairness.
• Imagine being born without knowledge of future circumstances (parents, neighborhood, opportunities).

Key Questions

• What kind of society would be safe to enter without knowledge of one's future?
• Would individuals gamble on entering a society with current inequalities?

Desired Outcomes of the Veil of Ignorance

• Society should ensure:
  • High-quality education
  • Efficient healthcare
  • Just legal systems
  • Adequate housing
• Ideal society would resemble models like Switzerland or Denmark.

Utility of Rawls' Experiment

• Encourages objective evaluation of societal fairness.
• A tool to critique allocation of resources and address different societal issues.
• Recognizes varying priorities based on specific societal problems (e.g., pollution, education).

Conclusion

• Societal fairness is measured by individuals' comfort with their unknown circumstances at birth.
• Current discomfort highlights ongoing injustices and the need for reform.
• John Rawls offers a framework for understanding and striving for fairness in society.