A Theory of Justice Preface - Chapter 2
Preface Summary
Rawls significantly simplifies the book for his readers by presenting the fundamental ideas in Sections 1-4 of Chapter 1; Sections 11-17 of Chapter 2; Chapter 3; Sections 33-35 and Sections 39-40 of Chapter 4. The book provides a comprehensive description in Sections 66-67 of Chapter 7; Sections 77, 78, 79, and 82 of Chapter 8, and Sections 85-86 of Chapter 9.
The remaining chapters discuss various philosophical theories and he acknowledges the inputs of various philosophers who have contributed to them.
CHAPTER 1
Chapter 1, Section 1
This section discusses the role of justice as a social institution. Such institutions must be abolished if they are found to be unjust. In a Just society, every citizen is equal and justice cannot be bought. Injustice can be tolerated only to stop a greater injustice from happening.
The principles of Justice provide a map for living life peacefully by assigning rights and duties in a society. The rules of social cooperation should be accepted by everyone willingly.
Chapter 1, Section 2
Just and Unjust practices can be associated on an individual level like decisions and judgments. The subject of Justice is the course by which fundamental rights and duties are distributed by major political and social institutions.
The inevitable inequality in the social system enters when men are born in different societal positions and have varied life expectations due to economic or social differences.
Chapter 1, Section 3
The principles involved in social cooperation ensure the proper division of social benefits. These principles are chosen behind the hidden veil of ignorance to maintain a proper equilibrium between the advantaged and the disadvantaged. A society that should be favored follows equality in basic social and economic rights.
Chapter 1, Section 4
Rawls mentions the theory of rational choice by touching upon some initial rational concerns. The original position and the veil of ignorance is an impartial view that we adopt in our reasoning regarding the principles of justice. It ensures impartial judgment.
Chapter 1, Section 5
According to Rawls, the utilitarian idea is to construct a society in a way to maximize the expected well-being of its constituents. He describes strict classical doctrine in which society and institutions are arranged in such a way that a satisfactory result could be obtained.
Chapter 1, Section 6
Liberty is given priority and utilitarianism seeks liberty. Utilitarianism is a teleological theory based on moral obligations to achieve desired results, ensuring maximum total good. On the other hand, justice as fairness is a deontological theory in which a well-ordered society leads to cooperation.
Chapter 1, Section 7
Intuitionism means the presence of an irreducible family of principles of justice balanced by our considered judgments. It has two implications: the plurality of first principles may instigate conflict with no explicit method and rules for weighing the principles against each other.
Justice as fairness when applied to philosophy generates balance.
Chapter 1, Section 8
Rawls says that Intuitionism has "no constructive answer can be given to the problem of assigning weights to compete for principles of justice" and intuition balances them. Justice as fairness poses some limits to intuition by using prudential and limiting the scope of questions, ordering principles in lexical order, and assuming the original position of parties' tactics to balance the principles of justice.
Chapter 1, Section 9
The final section clarifies the role that OP (Original Position) or the veil of ignorance plays and throws light on reflective equilibrium. The moral theory describes our moral capacity. The theory of justice describes our sense of how we take justice. Our sense of judgment displays the justice that we can offer.
Two conceptions of Reflective Equilibrium: 1) Conservative- The principles of justice should match our Considered Judgements. 2) Radical- The considered judgments should be accepted after all the arguments have been put forth. However, there's no guarantee that such a state could be reached.
CHAPTER 2
Chapter 2, Section 10
Justice for Institutions and Individuals differs from each other. The rules in an institution are public with a set of duties and powers. Its effectiveness depends on the way it is administered.
Chapter 2, Section 11
Rawls mentions two principles of justice namely "basic liberties" and "fair equality of opportunity". Basic liberties include freedom of speech, expression, political liberty, and personal freedom. The second principle accounts for the distribution of wealth. He believed that both principles are mandatory for a just society.
Chapter 2, Section 12
The three interpretations are 1) natural liberty, 2) liberal equality and 3) democratic equality. Natural liberty states that a basic structure will lead to a just distribution. Liberal equality incorporates equal opportunities. People with the same abilities should face the same prospects in society. Democratic Equality treats everyone equally and is the best of all the systems.
Chapter 2, Section 13
Democratic Equality combines equal opportunity with the difference principle. The difference principle states that inequality can only be accepted if the prospects of both sides are increased. It is important to satisfy the difference principle so that everyone can benefit.
Chapter 2, Section 14
The principle of open positions does not exclude groups as it would lead to injustice, despite the benefits. The principle of fair opportunity must ensure that procedural justice is maintained in the system. In contrast, utilitarianism has no guaranteed procedure to arrive at the perfect desired outcome.
Chapter 2, Section 15
Some objective grounds need to be established while comparing goods. The two ways by which this can be done are by applying ordinal judgment in the case of the disadvantaged. The second is simplifying the rules of interpersonal comparisons. Justice as fairness allows people to pursue social goods without making any judgments.
Chapter 2, Section 16
An individual holds two positions in Justice-as-fairness: equal citizenship and income. Equal citizenship means the rights and liberties of equal opportunity. The disadvantaged means people who are least favored in class and luck. However, the general point of view is preferred over a specific one.
Chapter 2, Section 17
The difference principle and the principle of redress define the egalitarian concept of justice. The difference principle compensates for the birth and natural inequalities. It eliminates the desire for greater advantage. The redress principle removes social efficiency from the basic structure.
Chapter 2, Section 18
The principles for individuals in a complete order should be the principles for basic social structure, individuals, laws, and priority rules. Obligations to the principle of fairness should be voluntary.
Chapter 2, Section 19
Rawls emphasizes that negative actions are more impactful than positive ones. Natural duties are involuntary and disconnected from institutions.
