Open AccessJohn Rawls: The past and present of a moral and political theory
Author(s) -
Mihaela Czobor-Lupp
Publication year - 2022
Publication title -
fìlosofsʹka dumka
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 2522-9346
pISSN - 2522-9338
DOI - 10.15407/fd2022.01.044
Subject(s) - solidarity , politics , sociology , political philosophy , citizenship , economic justice , epistemology , political ethics , humanity , environmental ethics , law , philosophy , political science
When John Rawls’ A Theory of Justice was published in 1971, it brought a strong, inspiring, and refreshing creative impetus in Anglo-Saxon philosophy. Since then, Rawls’ work has been criticized on several grounds, mainly related to its Kantian formalism. However, ideas and theories are not born and do not exist in a social and political vacuum. Read in different historical contexts they can reveal new meanings and deliver specific messages, which are tailored to specific audiences and political cultures. I argue in my paper that, reflecting this reality and my own life experience, Rawls’ conception of justice and of a well-ordered society always remains actual. An important part of this actuality is revealed in the manner in which the theory inspired Romanian society in its post-communist search for models of citizenship. It is also revealed by the message it delivers to today’s divided and polarized societies, where solidarity has been corroded by neoliberalism and a sense of fairness and reasonableness has been weakened by an increasingly noxious agonistic spirit.