Question

What was Rawls’ view of the concepts of people living in a “state of nature” and entering into a “social contract”?

Answer 1

In 1972, John Rawls brought a theory called, "A theory of justice" which was influenced by Kant's theory. In a theory of justice, he has argued that a person is capable of reasoning from the universal point of view and that the social and moral point of view can be discovered by being impartial. Rawls' position on the State of Nature is highly abstract and it helps to find out what is required for individuals and the social institutions to live cooperatively with each other. According to Rawls, the first virtue of social institutions is justice and the problem with utilitarianism is that it hurts our understanding of justice. Justice can be formulated in two principles and those who agree with utilitarianism, cannot accept them as fundamental. The first principles state that every individual has the right to most extensive basic liberty. This basic liberty includes, right to vote, freedom of speech and thought, freedom to hold property, liberty of conscience, etc. Rawl's second principle states that unequal distribution of wealth, power, and authority is justifiable if these inequalities can be used to work for the advantage of those who are worst off. According to Rawl, it is neither just nor unjust that men are born into different social position, it is natural. Justice does not require people to be created equal, rather, it requires people to share each other's fate. So that the collective resources can be put to work for the common good.