If we didn’t have this kind of egalitarian liberalism as part of our society we would be facing a lot more issues than what we have now. As a society we still have a lot of improvement to do because there are still cases where discrimination takes place. We see discrimination taking place in regards to people not being treated equal. People not having equal opportunities as others.
The communitarian critique of Rawls atomistic, abstract individualism simply talks about how people of society belong to a community from the beginning. Rawls explains that “ We are not simply atomic units, individuals alone in the universe. We have responsibilities to our community, and a good theory of justice must take such community ties into account” (Rosendstand, 2016). As people that live in a community we belong to that community and we play an important role regardless. As members we all have responsibilities to carry out in order for our community to be a safe place for everyone to live. We exercise our responsibilities by trying to better our community. Which means we choose what union or church we want to belong to. According to Friedman “communitarians seem to believe that we are always a part of a community form the beginning, we have not chosen it, and yet we have responsibilities as members” (Rosendstand, 2016). As children we may not have that option to be part of the community we live in. Once we turn into adults we have the choice to live in whichever community we want. Therefore we have responsibilities whether we agree or not. If people didn’t have responsibilities as members that live in a community then would possibly have higher rates of criminal activity taking place. In order to have a safe environment for us to live in we must take some sort of responsibility as community members of society.
Rosenstand, N. (2018). The Moral of the Story: An Introduction to Ethics. New York, NY: McGraw Hill Education