Rawlsian Justice: Reflections on a new Equilibrium

Date
2019-06-10
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Abstract
This thesis considers the notion of intergenerational justice. I consider intertemporal justice largely through the lens of John Rawls’s theory of justice. Nonetheless, Rawls incorrectly gives priority to the principle of reciprocity in his theory. I correct Rawls’s misunderstanding concerning reciprocity. I also discuss the often-overlooked importance of natural duties to Rawls’s theory. I add the condition of vulnerability to Rawls’s circumstances of justice. By making these changes I (a) give priority to impartiality in Rawls’s theory, (b) remove the difficulties created by Rawls’s present-time-of-entry interpretation, (c) remove the need for Rawls’s motivational assumption, and (c) remove the chance-timing of a person’s birth as an arbitrary contingency and basis for bias in the decision-making of those behind the veil of ignorance.
Description
Keywords
Ethics, intergenerational Justice, Intergenerational Rights and Duties, Rawls's Theory of Justice
Citation
Forster, M. S. (2019). Rawlsian Justice: Reflections on a new Equilibrium (Master's thesis, University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada). Retrieved from https://prism.ucalgary.ca.