Outlooks of J. Rawls's Theory of Justice

Abstract

The article discusses the role of Rawls's theory of justice for the evaluation and improvement of social wellbeing. It is shown that the idea of justice can be seen as a specification of a more general moral idea of dignity. This approach allows us to characterize the actions of institutions and individuals not only in terms of their effectiveness, but also of their conformity with the dignity of the individual. Like any moral theory, Rawls's theory of justice is designed to assess various forms of social life and to determine the nature of the action towards them. The article claims that the introduction of the two principles of justice provides a higher degree of moral sensitivity to various forms of social life and a more differentiated moral attitude towards them. In conclusion, the paper examines the limits of applicability of Rawls's theory of justice. The article argues that the priority role of the idea of justice in the structure of moral theory comes from the specifics of the market society.