The Great Philosophers: John Rawls

What Makes Society Unfair?
UNITED KINGDOM - JANUARY 19: Following the fall of the Czech Cabinet demonstrations and parades were held through Prague, the capital. Factories and workshops were closed when the workers took part in the various processions. Later President Benes broadcast a reassuring message to the nation. The situation has now become even more critical in Czechoslovakia. (Photo by Planet News Archive/SSPL/Getty Images)
UNITED KINGDOM - JANUARY 19: Following the fall of the Czech Cabinet demonstrations and parades were held through Prague, the capital. Factories and workshops were closed when the workers took part in the various processions. Later President Benes broadcast a reassuring message to the nation. The situation has now become even more critical in Czechoslovakia. (Photo by Planet News Archive/SSPL/Getty Images)

Many of us feel that our societies are a little – or even plain totally – ‘unfair’. But we have a hard time explaining our sense of injustice to the powers that be in a way that sounds rational and without personal pique or bitterness.

That’s why we need John Rawls (1921-2002), a twentieth-century American philosopher who provides us with a failproof model for identifying what truly might be unfair – and how we might gather support for fixing things.

Popular in the Community

Close

What's Hot