JOHN RAWLS: THE PAST AND PRESENT OF A MORAL AND POLITICAL THEORY

JOHN RAWLS’S POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.15407/fd2022.01.044

Keywords:

Rawls, Romania, contemporary politics and society, justice, democracy, dialogue, citizen

Abstract

When John Rawls’ A Theory of Justice was published in 1971, it brought a strong, inspiring, and refreshing creative impetus in Anglo-Saxon philosophy. Since then, Rawls’ work has been criticized on several grounds, mainly related to its Kantian formalism. However, ideas and theories are not born and do not exist in a social and political vacuum. Read in different historical contexts they can reveal new meanings and deliver specific messages, which are tailored to specific audiences and political cultures. I argue in my paper that, reflecting this reality and my own life experience, Rawls’ concep- tion of justice and of a well-ordered society always remains actual. An important part of this actuali- ty is revealed in the manner in which the theory inspired Romanian society in its post-communist search for models of citizenship. It is also revealed by the message it delivers to today’s divided and polarized societies, where solidarity has been corroded by neoliberalism and a sense of fairness and reasonableness has been weakened by an increasingly noxious agonistic spirit.

Author Biography

Mihaela CZOBOR-LUPP

PhD in Philosophy, PhD in Government, Associate Professor of Political Science,
Carleton College, 1, North College St., Willis 418, Northfield, MN 55057

References

Rawls, J. (1982). Social Unity and Primary Goods. In: A. Sen, B. Williams (Eds.), Utilitarianism and Beyond (pp. 159-185). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511611964.010

Rawls, J. (1999). A Theory of Justice. Cambridge: The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press.

https://doi.org/10.4159/9780674042582

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Published

2022-04-06

How to Cite

CZOBOR-LUPP, M. . (2022). JOHN RAWLS: THE PAST AND PRESENT OF A MORAL AND POLITICAL THEORY : JOHN RAWLS’S POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY. Filosofska Dumka, (1), 44–50. https://doi.org/10.15407/fd2022.01.044

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No. 1 (2022): Philosophical thought

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