John Rawls' A Theory of Justice: Impact on 20th-Century Philosophy

This essay examines the profound influence of John Rawls' 'A Theory of Justice' on 20th-century political philosophy. It highlights Rawls' articulation of egalitarian liberalism and his revitalization of the social-contract tradition. The essay discusses Rawls' development of principles of justice for modern social order, emphasizing political and personal liberties, equal opportunity, and the importance of benefiting the marginalized. It argues that Rawls' work is the most influential in 20th-century political philosophy, impacting economics, political science, law, and ethics. The essay further explores Rawls' critique of utilitarianism, his advocacy for social justice, and his impact on policymakers and society. It concludes by emphasizing the importance of fairness, equal rights, and opportunities as advocated by Rawls' principles.

Running head: JOHN RAWLS’ A THEORY JUSTICE INFLUENCE IN 20TH CENTURY 1
John Rawls’ a Theory Justice Influence In 20Th Century
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Introduction
John Rawls was arguably the most radical political philosopher of the twentieth century.
Apart from his book, A Theory of Justice that he wrote in 1971 he also wrote many influential
articles in the 1950s and 1960s that shaped Anglo-American political and moral philosophy on
substantive problems. In the book, A Theory of Justice, Rawls, articulates and defends the vision
of egalitarian liberalism by revitalizing the social-contract tradition (Maffettone, 2011). Rawls
contribution to justice and fairness through his theory of justice plays a critical role in shaping
the political philosophy in the twentieth century. In his theory, Rawls develops principles of
justice to govern the modern social order. The theory goes further to establish a framework that
observes and lays emphasis on the importance of the society that embraces political and personal
liberalities, free and equal persons, cooperative arrangements and equal opportunity that benefits
many and the marginalized people in the society. Based on the Rawls’ Theory of Justice
principles, this essay holds that John Rawls Theory of Justice is widely recognized as the most
influential work on the political philosophy in the twentieth century. Besides, the Rawls' work
has continued to be influential in the field of economics, political science, law, and ethics.
From the above observations, it is evident that John Rawls is the most contemporary
political philosopher of the twentieth century. According to Jerry Cohen, the Rawls’ Theory of
Justice Book is the third most important book in the world after Plato’s Politeia and Hobbes’
Leviathan (Kukathas, 2013). This argument makes it clear that the Rawls' justice theory is not
only significant in the twentieth century but also in the current century. First, this essay explains
the influence of the John Rawls' work in the 20th century in reference to the sad political
philosophy that existed in the mid-20th century. This argument can be linked to the words of
Isaiah Berlin in 1961 who depicted that “no commanding work of political philosophy appeared
in the 20th century” (Brooks & Nussbaum, 2015) Berlin went further to ask whether political
theory still existed. The theorists appeared to have limited research in the field of philosophy and
therefore, their work largely revolved around on exploring on questions such as; ‘What is right?’,
‘What is liberty?’, and ‘What is freedom?’ (Kukathas, 2013) However, this was a different case
for Rawls. Instead of just of explaining what freedom, liberty, and right is, Rawls also illustrated
which rights, freedoms, and liberties people ought to have in the society. Moreover, against all
the odds of the time, Rawls was able to provide a theory consistently and systematically that

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helped to address the three major questions that other political philosophers were unable to
unravel.
Secondly, why Rawls work is arguably the most influential in the 20th century is because
he convincingly disputed the utilitarianism concept. Research shows that until the 20th century
the political philosophy debate was dominated by 19th political theories especially by John Stuart
Mill and Jeremy Bentham (Maffettone, 2011). However, Rawls perceived that the political
system ought to have organized economic and political institutions in a manner that resulted to
wellbeing in the society or maximization of the total utility (Voice, 2011). It is out of this
observation whereby Rawls argued that utilitarianism needed to be renounced. According to
Rawls, the utilitarianism theory permits the reduction of the wellbeing or utility of certain
individuals in the society to benefit other persons and the end the total well-being or utility in the
society increases (O'Neill & Williamson, 2012). Rawls argued that utilitarianism concept allows
the society to thrive by allowing some persons to use others to benefit themselves.
Ideally, with utilitarianism in place, it is very hard to understand what is happing with
economic and political institutions (O'Neill & Williamson, 2012). For example, it allows people
to work at meager wages and poor working conditions so that millions of others can be provided
with cheap products. Rawls refuted this theory and advocated for the alternative theory that will
put into consideration equal liberties and rights and fair opportunities based on the economic and
social rights to wealth and income. Rawls said any just society should embrace these rights and
liberties as the major governing principles and they cannot be bypassed to achieve common goals
or maximize utility. The Rawls’ criticisms and views on the utilitarianism theory gained a lot of
attention from different sectors of the society. Additionally, political systems in different nation’s
especially European continent started to realize and embrace the importance of the Rawls’
Theory of Justice.
The third reason why the Rawls work was greatly influential in the 20th century can be
linked to spreading of his work outside the academic discipline (Weithman, 2011). The
policymakers, as well as the society at large, started employing the Rawls principles of the
Theory of Justice. Rawls made people believe that society should be judged based on how it
treats its worst-off members. These are people who are at the bottom of the socio-economic
ladder (Voice, 2011). The application of cost-benefit analysis declined among the policymakers,

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and therefore, they were also concerned about the welfare, opportunities and the rights of the
worst-off members of the society. Rawls on influencing people on the importance of appreciating
social justice advocated that the marginalized in the society also ought to be well-off. Rawls
supported his argument based on the two folds. First, Society is an association whereby every
member takes part and therefore, all members should have a fair share of the opportunities in the
society. Secondly, Rawls attributed the existing inequalities in wealth and opportunities in the
society to luck rather to individual responsibility. Therefore, political, social and economic
institutions should ensure the disadvantage in the society are as well-off as possible.
Conclusions
Rawls’ Theory of Justice, was very influential in the 20th century. It brought about social,
political and economic reforms in the institutions. The above three reasons extensively explain
why his work was significant in the 20th century. The Rawls principles of A Theory of Justice
urges society to embrace fairness by respecting the rights of all and ensuring that equal
opportunities are available to all members. He, therefore, rejects the utilitarianism theory by
claiming that it allows some persons to use others for their benefits. He calls for the fair society
where all have the equal chances for success.

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References
Brooks, T., & Nussbaum, M. (2015). Rawls's Political Liberalism, Columbia University Press.:
New York.
Kukathas, C. (2013). John Rawls: Critical Assessments of Leading Political Philosophers.
London:: Routledge.
Maffettone, S. (2011). Rawls: An Introduction, London:: Polity.
O'Neill, M., & Williamson, T. (2012). Property-Owning Democracy: Rawls and Beyond.
Chichester: John Wiley & Sons.
Voice, P. (2011). Rawls Explained: From Fairness to Utopia. Chicago: Open Court.
Weithman, P. (2011). Why Political Liberalism? On John Rawls's Political Turn. Oxford:
Oxford University Press.