---
product_id: 1274042
title: "A Theory of Justice"
price: "B/.107"
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reviews_count: 8
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store_origin: PA
region: Panama
---

# A Theory of Justice

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A Theory of Justice [Rawls, John] on desertcart.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. A Theory of Justice

Review: So much depends on it - If you want to read modern philosophers, Martha Nussbaum, Timothy Williamson, Owen Flanagan, Daniel Dennett, etc etc., they all seem to employ concepts or frameworks from Theory of Justice in the background. That's my impression anyway. So in other words, the author and the book are brilliant. It's as fascinating a read as you would think.
Review: Justice as Fairness - This is one of the most important books on social philosophy written in the last century. As the other mis-informed reviews illustrate, Rawls requires careful reading and a conviction to work through his arguments. Basically, Rawls tries to argue for a theory of Justice based on non-utilitarian principles. How can we have a Just Society that preserves individual rights and at the same time functions above the level of anarchy? Tilting too far one way results in a Communistic state that places the group above the individual. Tilting too far the other way results in a state that is a "war of all against all". Rawls proposes that we arrive at a conception of Justice using minimal assumptions. He uses something called the "Veil of Ignorance" to derive his principles of Justice. This "Veil of Ignorance" assumes we would act in our own self-interest, but we don't know where in society we would end up. Given these two principles, people actint in their own self-interest but not knowing what place they might occupy in society, Rawls argues that we would come up with two principles of Justice; 1) each person has the most extensive basic liberties that are compatible for everyone having these liberties, and 2) social inequalities will be arranged so that they benefit everyone and such that we all have equal access to beneficial social positions. (Some reviews here apparently feel that Rawls was trying to describe an historical situation with the Veil of Ignorance. I would suggest that they actually read Rawls.) What Rawls is arguing is that taking a very minimal assumption about human nature (we rationally act in our own self interest) and assuming that no one knows his or her eventual social position, we will come up with these two principles of Justice (Justice as Fairness). A society is Just if it provides the most extensive set of liberties possible to everyone in the society and if it contains ways to balance social inequalities and provide equal access. Most people (even the Ann Rand folk) would agree with the first principle (equal rights), but likely have problems with the second. Most of the people writing reviews, I believe, have not really read what Rawls has written or understood what they have read. If you want to disagree with Rawls then you must meet him with argument and reason, and not vituperative comment. I may not agree with everything in this book, but I must first understand Rawls' powerful arguments and reasoning before I can propose alternative ideas. Love him or hate him, Rawls cannot be ignored and neither can this book.

## Technical Specifications

| Specification | Value |
|---------------|-------|
| Best Sellers Rank | #25,749 in Books ( See Top 100 in Books ) #43 in Modern Western Philosophy #79 in Political Philosophy (Books) #89 in History & Theory of Politics |
| Customer Reviews | 4.7 out of 5 stars 458 Reviews |

## Images

![A Theory of Justice - Image 1](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/51HitUuZNnL.jpg)

## Customer Reviews

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ So much depends on it
*by A***R on April 21, 2024*

If you want to read modern philosophers, Martha Nussbaum, Timothy Williamson, Owen Flanagan, Daniel Dennett, etc etc., they all seem to employ concepts or frameworks from Theory of Justice in the background. That's my impression anyway. So in other words, the author and the book are brilliant. It's as fascinating a read as you would think.

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Justice as Fairness
*by D***G on February 19, 2002*

This is one of the most important books on social philosophy written in the last century. As the other mis-informed reviews illustrate, Rawls requires careful reading and a conviction to work through his arguments. Basically, Rawls tries to argue for a theory of Justice based on non-utilitarian principles. How can we have a Just Society that preserves individual rights and at the same time functions above the level of anarchy? Tilting too far one way results in a Communistic state that places the group above the individual. Tilting too far the other way results in a state that is a "war of all against all". Rawls proposes that we arrive at a conception of Justice using minimal assumptions. He uses something called the "Veil of Ignorance" to derive his principles of Justice. This "Veil of Ignorance" assumes we would act in our own self-interest, but we don't know where in society we would end up. Given these two principles, people actint in their own self-interest but not knowing what place they might occupy in society, Rawls argues that we would come up with two principles of Justice; 1) each person has the most extensive basic liberties that are compatible for everyone having these liberties, and 2) social inequalities will be arranged so that they benefit everyone and such that we all have equal access to beneficial social positions. (Some reviews here apparently feel that Rawls was trying to describe an historical situation with the Veil of Ignorance. I would suggest that they actually read Rawls.) What Rawls is arguing is that taking a very minimal assumption about human nature (we rationally act in our own self interest) and assuming that no one knows his or her eventual social position, we will come up with these two principles of Justice (Justice as Fairness). A society is Just if it provides the most extensive set of liberties possible to everyone in the society and if it contains ways to balance social inequalities and provide equal access. Most people (even the Ann Rand folk) would agree with the first principle (equal rights), but likely have problems with the second. Most of the people writing reviews, I believe, have not really read what Rawls has written or understood what they have read. If you want to disagree with Rawls then you must meet him with argument and reason, and not vituperative comment. I may not agree with everything in this book, but I must first understand Rawls' powerful arguments and reasoning before I can propose alternative ideas. Love him or hate him, Rawls cannot be ignored and neither can this book.

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ I'm not going to summarize his arguments here--others have already done that much better than I ever could--but Rawls' vision of a truly ...
*by R***R on June 23, 2018*

All right, I'll confess--I haven't actually read this whole book. I don't know if anyone, even Rawls, ever has. A Theory of Justice is famously difficult and dense, but nevertheless absolutely essential reading for anyone interested in political philosophy. I'm not going to summarize his arguments here--others have already done that much better than I ever could--but Rawls' vision of a truly just society is so brilliant and innovative you can't help but admire it, even if you think it's a bad idea. This book has influenced generations of political thinkers and policymakers, and serves as a justification for so many of the redistributive economic policies in place today. If you're interested in political philosophy or just want to know why Western states dole out welfare like they do, read this book. Or at least parts of it.

## Frequently Bought Together

- A Theory of Justice
- Anarchy, State, and Utopia
- Political Liberalism (Columbia Classics in Philosophy)

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