Until today when as we started our discussion on Rawls, I
did not understand how one could practically apply the teachings of Kant into
everyday society. I find Rawls incredibly interesting because of his
"justice as fairness" theory, which in reality just want to give
everyone equal footing. Instead of making the rich richer and the poor just as
poor, Rawls idea to give the greatest benefits to the least advantage really
speaks to me. Politically my ideologies lean more to the left, so I agree with
the diffusion of wealth to the poor. Even briefly looking at the points it is
not hard to tell that this Rawls has greatly influenced the world, as well as
the American government. Our Bill of
Rights holds almost all of what Rawls believes you be basic liberties among
men including:
- The right to vote/ hold office
- Freedom of speech/assembly
- Private property
- Due process/equality before the law
- Freedom of the person
- Freedom to contract
I found Rawls actually really interesting, so I looked up some
quotes by him and found one from his book A Theory of Justice that I really
enjoyed and agreed with . It states:
“Justice is the
first virtue of social institutions, as truth is of systems of thought. A
theory however elegant and economical must be rejected or revised if it is
untrue; likewise laws and institutions no matter how efficient and
well-arranged must be reformed or abolished if they are unjust. Each person
possesses an inviolability founded on justice that even the welfare of society
as a whole cannot override. For this reason justice denies that the loss of
freedom for some is made right by a greater good shared by others. It does not
allow that the sacrifices imposed on a few are outweighed by the larger sum of
advantages enjoyed by many. Therefore in a just society the liberties of equal
citizenship are taken as settled; the rights secured by justice are not subject
to political bargaining or to the calculus of social interests.”
I feel as though Rawls understands the importance of justice
through this quote, and calls people to not just accept what they have been
told. If something is wrong, then as why and fix it. Do not allow for it to
keep persisting because that it one of the most harmful things to society.
Ignorance is not bliss; Ignorance is laziness. Let's get out from behind the veil of ignorance. Let's make a change. How do you think ignorance is affecting today's society? Do you agree with Rawls views about equality?
I can see Rawls' point of view. For example taxes...some of the upper class have a problem paying their taxes based on their income. Some believe they shouldn't have to pay according to the economic status. Some believe that everyone should have the same rate, regardless of one's income, which in my opinion is not very helpful when it comes to funding, etc. I do believe that ignorance is affecting today's society tremendously. I feel that the children and young adults are the future and the only thing they will have to help pave the way for the generations to come is the information they have today. As a young adult I'm not pleased with the way our nation is going, but hopefully there will be a change in society that will help steer the generations to come in the right direction.
ReplyDeleteI agree with most of your post, but I do think that Rawls' wants us to try to embody the veil of ignorance. Behind the veil of ignorance, there would be no racism, differences among gender, and social inequality based on sexuality, disabilities, or religious differences. We aren't behind a veil of ignorance, so we do stereotype and/or have a social hierarchy in America.
ReplyDeleteI believe that ignorance is the reason why the country is not stable. Most of the time we are ignorant to the policies that are being passed by Congress and can be ignorant to the people that we vote for in elections. I believe that anyone that is not a part of the government is truly ignorant to what is actually happening. As far as your comment about spreading the wealth, it reminds of the Robin Hood phenomenon. Trying to spread the worth becomes a matter of the people in charge. The people in power don't want to share their wealth because they believe that the poor people are lazy and need to work for theirs. It returns back to the ignorance of society. I believe in equality for all, and we say that equality is given; however, their is not always evidence of that.
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