A THEORY OF JUSTICE A THEORY OF JUSTICE Revised Edition JOHN RAWLS the belknap press of harvard university press cambridge, massachusetts © Copyright 1971, 1999 by the President and Fellows of Harvard College All rights reserved Printed in the United States of America This book is a revised edition of A Theory of Justice, published in 1971 by Harvard University Press. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Rawls, John, 1921– A theory of justice / John Rawls. — Rev. ed. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 0-674-00077-3 (cloth : alk. paper). — ISBN 0-674-00078-1 (paper : alk. paper) 1. Justice. I. Title. JC578.R38 1999 320(cid:2).01(cid:2)1—dc21 99-29110 For Mard CONTENTS Contents PREFACE FOR THE REVISED EDITION xi PREFACE xvii Part One. Theory CHAPTER I. JUSTICE AS FAIRNESS 3 1. The Role of Justice 3 2. The Subject of Justice 6 3. The Main Idea of the Theory of Justice 10 4. The Original Position and Justification 15 5. Classical Utilitarianism 19 6. Some Related Contrasts 24 7. Intuitionism 30 8. The Priority Problem 36 9. Some Remarks about Moral Theory 40 CHAPTER II. THE PRINCIPLES OF JUSTICE 47 10. Institutions and Formal Justice 47 11. Two Principles of Justice 52 12. Interpretations of the Second Principle 57 13. Democratic Equality and the Difference Principle 65 14. Fair Equality of Opportunity and Pure Procedural Justice 73 15. Primary Social Goods as the Basis of Expectations 78 16. Relevant Social Positions 81 17. The Tendency to Equality 86 vii Contents 18. Principles for Individuals: The Principle of Fairness 93 19. Principles for Individuals: The Natural Duties 98 CHAPTER III. THE ORIGINAL POSITION 102 20. The Nature of the Argument for Conceptions of Justice 102 21. The Presentation of Alternatives 105 22. The Circumstances of Justice 109 23. The Formal Constraints of the Concept of Right 112 24. The Veil of Ignorance 118 25. The Rationality of the Parties 123 26. The Reasoning Leading to the Two Principles of Justice 130 27. The Reasoning Leading to the Principle of Average Utility 139 28. Some Difficulties with the Average Principle 144 29. Some Main Grounds for the Two Principles of Justice 153 30. Classical Utilitarianism, Impartiality, and Benevolence 160 Part Two. Institutions CHAPTER IV. EQUAL LIBERTY 171 31. The Four-Stage Sequence 171 32. The Concept of Liberty 176 33. Equal Liberty of Conscience 180 34. Toleration and the Common Interest 186 35. Toleration of the Intolerant 190 36. Political Justice and the Constitution 194 37. Limitations on the Principle of Participation 200 38. The Rule of Law 206 39. The Priority of Liberty Defined 214 40. The Kantian Interpretation of Justice as Fairness 221 CHAPTER V. DISTRIBUTIVE SHARES 228 41. The Concept of Justice in Political Economy 228 42. Some Remarks about Economic Systems 234 43. Background Institutions for Distributive Justice 242 44. The Problem of Justice between Generations 251 45. Time Preference 259 46. Further Cases of Priority 263 47. The Precepts of Justice 267 48. Legitimate Expectations and Moral Desert 273 49. Comparison with Mixed Conceptions 277 50. The Principle of Perfection 285 viii Contents CHAPTER VI. DUTY AND OBLIGATION 293 51. The Arguments for the Principles of Natural Duty 293 52. The Arguments for the Principle of Fairness 301 53. The Duty to Comply with an Unjust Law 308 54. The Status of Majority Rule 313 55. The Definition of Civil Disobedience 319 56. The Definition of Conscientious Refusal 323 57. The Justification of Civil Disobedience 326 58. The Justification of Conscientious Refusal 331 59. The Role of Civil Disobedience 335 Part Three. Ends CHAPTER VII. GOODNESS AS RATIONALITY 347 60. The Need for a Theory of the Good 347 61. The Definition of Good for Simpler Cases 350 62. A Note on Meaning 355 63. The Definition of Good for Plans of Life 358 64. Deliberative Rationality 365 65. The Aristotelian Principle 372 66. The Definition of Good Applied to Persons 380 67. Self-Respect, Excellences, and Shame 386 68. Several Contrasts between the Right and the Good 392 CHAPTER VIII. THE SENSE OF JUSTICE 397 69. The Concept of a Well-Ordered Society 397 70. The Morality of Authority 405 71. The Morality of Association 409 72. The Morality of Principles 414 73. Features of the Moral Sentiments 420 74. The Connection between Moral and Natural Attitudes 425 75. The Principles of Moral Psychology 429 76. The Problem of Relative Stability 434 77. The Basis of Equality 441 CHAPTER IX. THE GOOD OF JUSTICE 450 78. Autonomy and Objectivity 450 79. The Idea of Social Union 456 80. The Problem of Envy 464 81. Envy and Equality 468 ix