John Rawls’ Theory of Justice and Political Legitimacy
Perspectives on Legitimacy and Rawls’ Framework
Different perspectives address legitimacy. John Rawls’ theory significantly influences the liberal democratic model through its principles of justice. Rawls develops a procedure in a pre-constitutional stage to justify a political conception of justice.
In the constitutional stage, justice is applied to society. The Constitution assumes these liberal principles. Subsequently, all institutions operate based on this regulatory structure.
John Rawls’ Approach: Contractualism and Procedure
Rawls revisits and justifies the contractual model, aligning with Rousseau’s contractualism. He develops a theory where procedure establishes the general will, legitimized through law. He develops a procedure based on pure procedural justice, recalling different types:
- Perfect Procedural Justice: A procedure exists where, a priori, we know applying it guarantees a fair result (e.g., dividing a cake fairly by having the cutter choose last).
- Imperfect Procedural Justice: A procedure exists to achieve a just outcome but doesn’t guarantee it even when followed correctly (e.g., a criminal trial aims for justice but can err).
- Pure Procedural Justice: The fairness of the outcome is determined solely by following the correct procedure. Rawls uses this for his contractual method, based on a specific conception of the person and a hypothetical situation.
1. Conception of the Person
Individuals are conceived as free and equal moral persons, possessing:
- Rationality: The ability to form, revise, and pursue a conception of the good.
- Reasonableness: The capacity for a sense of justice, enabling them to understand, apply, and act from principles of justice.
- A specific Conception of the Good (their life plan, values).
2. The Original Position: A Hypothetical Contract
This is the hypothetical contractual situation where principles of justice are chosen.
- Objective: To establish fair terms of social cooperation, targeting the basic structure of society (major political, social, and economic institutions), not individual behavior.
- Fairness: The resulting agreement is just only if negotiated under conditions of equality and freedom. A society conforming to these principles is considered well-ordered.
The Veil of Ignorance
To ensure fairness and equality in the Original Position, Rawls introduces the Veil of Ignorance. This prevents parties from knowing specific facts about themselves (e.g., social status, natural talents, conception of the good, race, gender). This removes biases stemming from accidental advantages or disadvantages.
Decision Rule: Maximin
Parties, acting autonomously but with this limited knowledge, use the maximin rule for decision-making. This rule dictates choosing the option where the worst possible outcome is better than the worst possible outcome of any other option (maximizing the minimum). It’s a rational strategy under uncertainty, aiming to secure fundamental interests for a cooperative society based on normative principles.
Primary Goods: Universal Needs
Parties in the Original Position aim to secure primary goods, things every rational person is presumed to want:
- Basic rights and liberties
- Freedom of movement and free choice of occupation
- Powers and prerogatives of offices and positions of responsibility
- Income and wealth
- The social bases of self-respect (dignity)
The principles of justice govern the distribution of these goods.
Principles of Justice Chosen
1. Principle of Equal Basic Liberties
Each person has an equal right to the most extensive scheme of equal basic liberties compatible with a similar scheme of liberties for others.
2. Second Principle (Addressing Inequalities)
Social and economic inequalities are to be arranged so that they are both:
- (a) The Difference Principle: To the greatest benefit of the least-advantaged members of society.
- (b) Fair Equality of Opportunity: Attached to offices and positions open to all under conditions of fair equality of opportunity.