John Rawls: The Philosopher of Justice

John Rawls was an American philosopher and scholar whose work focused on the idea of justice. His magnum opus, A Theory of Justice, sparked a revolution in political philosophy by introducing a fascinating concept of justice. He was born in Baltimore, Maryland, and attended college at Princeton University, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in philosophy in 1943. Rawls also served in the United States Army during World War II, where he mastered the art of camouflage, helping him to blend in with his surroundings, and making him one of the sneakiest philosophers of all time.

Rawls was best known for his “original position,” an imaginary state in which individuals come together to design the basic rules of society. It is not a coincidence that he came up with this concept because Rawls was an avid fan of board games like Monopoly and Risk. Rawls believed that if people were to design society from behind a veil of ignorance (meaning they didn’t know what their position in society would be), they would create a fairer and more just system. However, some critics argued that the original position was a bit like playing a game of poker, where the person with the better hand will always win.

One of the main criticisms of Rawls’s work was that it was too abstract and had no practical value. However, Rawls countered this by stating that his work was more like a recipe book. You might not get a perfect cake every time, but if you follow the recipe, you are more likely to be successful. Rawls added that his theory was like a cake recipe that could be made with different flavors, such as chocolate or vanilla, depending on the specific society’s needs.

Rawls’s work on justice is still studied today, and his theories have influenced many political and social movements. His ideas have been used to argue for everything from universal basic income to reducing inequality in education. Overall, Rawls was a clever and sneaky philosopher whose camouflage skills helped him to design a more just and equitable society.