Few scholars have had as large an impact upon their field as John Rawls, and fewer works have provoked as large a response as his A Theory of Justice. Among the contributions he made that solidified his place as a figure of note, none are more significant than the concept of the ‘Original Position’ which stands at the heart of this work. A purported attempt to distill the core tenets of the idea of the social contract at a more abstract level, Rawls’ argument led to a vigorous reconsideration of contemporary liberalism and the study of political philosophy that then dominated the latter part of the 20th century. In particular, Rawls arguably revitalized the attempt to provide an account of state institutions that morally grounds them, such that they can be regarded as legitimate by the people they govern from a liberal perspective. Whatever the success of his discussion, it pays to review both the historical significance and the analytical intricacies of Rawls’ views. My goal is to bring to the fore the basic aspects of Rawls’ arguments in order to clarify the importance of his position.
Chapter 8 · Abstract