A Theory of Justice

A Theory of Justice is a book of political and moral philosophy by John Rawls. It was originally published in 1971 and revised in 1975 (for the translated editions) and in 1999. In A Theory of Justice, Rawls lays out his own moral theory, called "Justice as Fairness", and his two famous principles of justice, the liberty principle and the difference principle.

Critics of A Theory of Justice

Rawls's work was contested by his libertarian Harvard colleague Robert Nozick, and today Rawls's A Theory of Justice and Nozick's Anarchy, State, and Utopia (1974) are often read in conjunction with each other to examine the points of disagreement between social liberals and libertarians.

Related Topics:
Libertarian - Robert Nozick - Anarchy, State, and Utopia - 1974

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Philosophers who have attempted to improve or clarify A Theory of Justice include Martha Nussbaum, who has reinterpreted Rawls's arguments in terms of capabilities or 'substantial freedoms', a concept borrowed from Amartya Sen.

Related Topics:
Martha Nussbaum - Amartya Sen

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Modern welfare economics has made substantial progress since the days of the Rawls' work. The key assumptions made in A Theory of Justice such as interpersonal comparison of utilities, max-min principle and the concept of the original point can be revised within a formal mathematical framework.

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