John Rawls

 He was born on February 21, 1921, in

Baltimore Maryland U.S, and Died on
November 24, 2002 in Lexington
Massachusetts.
 An American political and ethical
philosopher, best known for his defense of
egalitarian liberalism in his major work, A
Theory of Justice.
 He is widely considered the most important
political philosopher of the 20th century.

Justice and Morality

 John Rawls developed A Theory of Justice based on the social contract theory.
 Rawls argued that equal distribution of resources should be the desirable state of nature
instead of following utilitarian philosophies.
 A Theory of Justice holds that every individual has an equal right to basic liberties, and
that they should have the right to opportunities and an equal chance as other individuals
of similar ability.

 Rawls Social Agreements are bound by two conditions

1. Every individual should be committed to it in perpetuity, that is, it should not be
dependent on the personal whims and conditions of the individuals.
2. The commitment every individual has for social agreements has to increase as the
understanding of these agreements also intensifies.
 In his Theory of Justice he writes:
First Principle: Each person is to have an equal right to the most extensive basic liberty
compatible with a similar liberty for others.
Second Principle: Social and economic inequalities are to be arranged so that they are
both (a) to the greatest benefit of the least advantaged and (b) attached to offices and
positions open to all under conditions of fair equality of opportunity.