A Theory of Justice - Essay Example

?A Theory of Justice The nature of justice has been considered since at least Greek antiquity. Philosophers such as Plato and Aristotle contributed significantly to this area of investigation. Throughout the centuries other thinkers have added insights. Notably, John Stuart Mille advanced the notion of utilitarianism where the proper approach is to advance one’s happiness, while refraining from doing harm. Emmanuel Kant considered the categorical imperative wherein one should only engage in actions as long as they could be extended to all members of society. John Rawls, in his Theory of Justice, proposed the idea of the veil of ignorance. The corollary of this approach is that, “...no one knows his place in society, his class position or social status; nor does he know his fortune in the distribution of natural assets and abilities, his intelligence and strength, and the like” (Rawls, p. 118). The individual is then tasked with designing a society with this understanding in mind. As a means of carrying out Rawl’s veil of ignorance, this essay proposes what sorts of principles I would propose for this new society. Additionally, the essay considers what guarantees people would have, and what values would be most important to create and preserve. After considering the veil of ignorance one of the overarching considerations of this new society is the need to ensure that it offers fair opportunities to all citizens. As a means of achieving this society there necessarily must be a radical reimagining of the way that the country is structured. Currently society is organized a capitalist democratic model. In this way the primary means of achieving income are through capitalizing on one’s strengths to as great a degree as possible. The pervading logic in this approach to life is that individuals who work the hardest will correspondingly be given the most opportunities and success. There is the further belief that innovation and entrepreneurship will not occur unless people are given a direct financial incentive. While from a theoretical perspective this view of the world may be accurate, in practice there is a great amount of complication. What often occurs is that specific groups of people gain power and are able to oppress other groups of people. In this way survival of the fittest partially takes over, wherein the strong dominate the weak. Additionally, people become oppressed along racial and ethnic lines. In this way many of the brightest and most talented individuals in society are not granted the equal opportunities. Even as society is democratic in nature, the pervading structures are such that these processes are cyclical, with individuals in power contributing to the oppressive mechanisms. Following the understanding of society as greatly contributing to the oppression of certain groups of people significant changes will be implemented. One of the first changes is that the past notion that all individuals work for the simple accumulation of wealth will be disregarded. Numerous studies have indicated that once an individual makes over $75,000 a year their relative happiness level does not increase. Still, a significant amount of people in society make considerably more than this amount, while millions of others struggle to achieve a living income. The obvious solution is to institute wealth distribution systems, where the wealthiest Americans necessarily distribute their wealth to those making the least amount of money. While such processes are in place to a small extent, the large-scale implementation of these processes have not occurred as there is the general belief that individuals would not work as hard if they did not receive direct compensation for their actions. Although there is an extent of truth to these claims, ultimately it appears that they do not fully take into account the motivations of human behavior. One considers that individuals such as Warren Buffet have made extensive amounts of money and ultimately given it away to charity. The current Presidential candidate Mitt Romney, for instance, made substantial sums of money but is now working to achieve social respect through political office. The main recognition in these regards is that while money is a motivating factor, individuals are greatly motivated out of self-worth, respect, and the increased responsibility they attain through their contributions to society. Starting with the education system individuals will increasingly be allowed to pursue interests and activities that are most linked to their personal aptitudes. The current system is such that many individuals are forced to enter post-secondary institutions on the grounds that they will not be able to achieve an adequate income throughout their life. This not only creates significant debt, but it keeps individuals away from pursuing their true callings in life. The emphasis on vocation will be linked to an individual’s innate aptitude rather than on their blind pursuit of financial gain. In this way society will increasingly be driven by people who are performing their occupations out of a general willingness to realize their potential as humans. While individuals will be given a salary for their professions this salary will greatly decrease once they pass the $75,000 mark. In this way significant tax burdens will be placed on income over this range. These tax dollars will then go to aid individuals making below $75,000, as well as to capital improvements in society. Another prominent contributing factor to individual motivation will be increased responsibility and social respect. While individuals may not receive the exorbitant wages they once did, through their hard work they will gain increased levels of responsibility in society. This responsibility will increasingly contribute to their self-worth as others admire them. In this way no members of society will go without money to live, yet there will still be motivating to achieve great things. This society will need to change in other ways as well. Currently there is a significant amount of religious influence within the country. While it religion has undoubtedly contributed in effective ways to social order, in the modern world is has increasingly upheld antiquated forms of reasoning and worked actively to oppressive entire sections of the population. Increasingly society will need to work towards adopting scientific modes of reasoning; in the process they will need to leave absurd notions of a miracle performing God figure behind, just like they did Santa Claus as a child. In this new society ethics and moral principles will be derived from legal proceedings. These legal proceedings will not be influenced by religious faith, but intellectual and philosophical discourse. When possible empirical evidence will be incorporated into the decision making process. In all instances there will be constant revaluation of these principles based on sound and scientific reasoning rather than on mystical faith-based solutions. Through abandoning religious reasoning society can increasingly embrace values that will tangibly work to unite each other, rather than to segment each other along religious affiliations. In this way Muslims, Jews, and homosexuals will all be viewed most prominently as humans. There are a number of values that will be upheld in this new society. The most pervasive value is that of personal development. While currently society heralds hard work as a significant value, this perspective will be sharpened through encouraging individuals to achieve the most they can out of their lives. As individuals strive towards personal betterment they will increasingly strive towards realizing their greatest potential. In this way society will advance through innovation and scientific achievements irrespective of how much money the inventors will be given for their inventions. Another prominent value that will be embraced is that of creativity. Creativity is essential to the functioning of this new society as individuals who embody and exemplify creativity will be the ones that move society forward in the most effective ways. Inclusion and tolerance will be another significant value. Currently society demonizes great parts of the population for being different. For instance, gays are not given the right to marriage. In this new society there will be increased emphasis placed on progressive values such that all people can increasingly accept themselves and work to realize their greatest potential. In this way scientific reasoning will increasingly be promoted over religious faith based reasoning. A final value that will be upheld is that of equality. While society currently declares that all people are created equal significant social stratification has emerged wherein large bodies of people view themselves as better than other groups. Although it is impossible to change minds, counter-values can be adopted. In conclusion, this essay has implemented John Rawl’s veil of ignorance. Specifically it has considered the VI in establishing a future society. This society is based on egalitarian values, where significant wealth accumulation is made impossible though an economic distribution system. Individuals making over $75,000 will incur significant tax burdens. As a means to promote development and innovation society will need to shift its value system. In this way no longer will extremely wealthy people had heralded as great, but instead creativity and personal development will become the most embraced values. References Rawls, John. A Theory of Justice. Cambridge: Belknap Press. 2001. Read More