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80 pages 2 hours read

John Rawls

A Theory of Justice

Nonfiction | Reference/Text Book | Adult | Published in 1971

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Essay Topics

1.

Assess Rawls’s justification for civil disobedience at the end of Chapter 6. Choose a modern example of civil disobedience in your own society and assess whether it conforms to the principles of justice as fairness.

2.

Is it ever really possible to institute a just savings principle to achieve intergenerational justice, given the complexities and uncertainties of societies as they evolve over time? How does this concept apply to the socioeconomic benefits and challenges facing the current generations, i.e., Baby Boomers, Gen X, Millennials, and Gen Z?

3.

How does Rawls adapt Aristotle’s concept of eudaimonia? How does it fit in with his argument about prioritizing individual liberties? Use examples from the text in your response.

4.

Discuss how the difference principle contradicts utilitarianism. What is Rawls’s rationale for not seeking to maximize society’s aggregate good? What practical examples of this does he provide? Use examples from the text in your response.

5.

Compare A Theory of Justice with Kant’s Critique of Pure Reason. How do their concepts of good and rationality align, and how do they differ? What alterations does Rawls make to Kant’s theories, and why?

6.

Choose a real-world current or historical political issue and discuss it from the point of view of justice as fairness and classical utilitarianism. What are the pros and cons of applying each philosophy to real-world situations?

7.

Scholars such as G. A. Cohen and Robert Nozick have critiqued the original position and the veil of ignorance as flawed concepts. Choose one such critique and discuss its main points. Do you agree or disagree with its assessment, and why? Use examples from the text in your response.

8.

Must a society fully conform to the two principles of justice as fairness to be a just society, or is partial compliance acceptable? What ultimately determines a society’s level of justice?

9.

Critique Rawls proposes to regulate society’s institutions and achieve distributive justice, i.e., the allocation, transfer, distribution, and stabilization branches. Is his proposal realistic? Why or why not?

10.

Choose a principle from the text and take it through the original position, constitutional convention, and legislative stages of the four-stage sequence. How does this system of interrogation change the way a principle is created and applied? Why does Rawls highlight this as the best method for establishing principles?

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