RETHINKING JUSTICE: A CRITIQUE OF J. RAWLS'S THEORY


DOI: https://doi.org/10.17721/2415-881x.2025.96.33-46

Vadym Derkach

Abstract


This article offers a critical re-evaluation of John Rawls’s theory of justice. Key elements of Rawls’s framework, including the notions of the “original position”, the “veil of ignorance”, and the “difference principle”, are examined and highlighted for their detachment from actual social sentiments and conflicts. Employing conceptual analysis and game-theoretical modeling, the study demonstrates that Rawls’s procedural approach cannot fully circumvent internal antinomies. The paper proposes an alternative conception according to which justice is not about leveling, but about justified inequality. This model grounds social privileges in the individual’s contribution, competence, and responsibility, which, the author argues, ensures the evolutionary stability and productivity of social systems. The advantages of this approach are demonstrated in comparison to Rawls’s framework, which, while guaranteeing basic protection, may inadvertently weaken incentives for personal and societal development.

Keywords


justice; John Rawls; theory of justice; utilitarianism; rational choice; social inequality; compensation; hierarchy; institutional justice; political philosophy

References


Rawls, J. (1971). A Theory of Justice. Harvard University Press.

Rawls, J. (1993). Political Liberalism. Columbia University Press.

Daniels, N. (1996). Justice and Justification: Reflective Equilibrium in Theory and Practice. Cambridge University Press.

Freeman, S. (2007). Rawls. Routledge.

Pogge, T. (2007). John Rawls: His Life and Theory of Justice. Oxford University Press.

Barry, B. (1995). Justice as Impartiality. Oxford University Press.

Sandel, M. J. (1998). Liberalism and the Limits of Justice. Cambridge University Press.

Sandel, M. J. (2009). Justice: What’s the Right Thing to Do? Farrar, Straus and Giroux.

Kymlicka, W. (2002). Contemporary Political Philosophy: An Introduction. Oxford University Press.

Gaus, G. (2011). The Order of Public Reason: A Theory of Freedom and Morality in a Diverse and Bounded World. Cambridge University Press.

Cohen, G. A. (2008). Rescuing Justice and Equality. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

Sen, A. (2009). The Idea of Justice. Harvard University Press.


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