Rawls’ Theory of Justice as Fairness
Rawls’ theory of justice as fairness is a powerful and influential theory that has had a major impact on political philosophy, economics, and even legal theory. The theory is based on two key ideas: first, that there is a basic structure of society, and second, that justice is a matter of fairness. Rawls believes that there are two principles of justice that should govern the basic structure of society: the liberty principle and the difference principle. The difference principle has been criticized by many philosophers, but it remains an important part of Rawls’ theory.