John Rawls
Theory of justice
Sayings by John Rawls
The principles of justice are those that would be chosen by rational beings in a situation of equality.
The idea of reflective equilibrium is a state of affairs where one has considered various proposed principles and has revised one's judgments and principles until they cohere.
A conception of justice is stable if, when the basic structure of society is publicly known to satisfy its principles for an extended period, those subject to these arrangements acquire a sense of justice and the corresponding desires to act in accordance with them.
The principles of justice apply to the basic structure of society, not to individual actions directly.
The original position with its veil of ignorance is a thought experiment.
The social minimum is not simply a matter of charity, but of justice.
The principles of justice are to be publicly recognized as the final court of appeal for ordering institutions.
The idea of public reason specifies the political values that are to guide the exercise of political power.
Political liberalism is not a comprehensive doctrine.
The overlapping consensus is a reasonable way to secure stability for the right reasons.
The fact of reasonable pluralism is a permanent feature of a democratic culture.
A just society respects the freedom and equality of its citizens.
The principles of justice provide a public basis for justification.
The well-ordered society is not a society of saints.
The aim of justice as fairness is to provide a reasonable conception of justice for a constitutional democracy.
The principles of justice are to be chosen by rational agents in a fair bargaining situation.
The idea of public reason applies to the political domain, not to all aspects of life.
The difference principle requires that inequalities work to the benefit of the least advantaged.
Justice is not merely a matter of efficiency or utility.
The principles of justice are a special case of the theory of rational choice.