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Nozick vs. Rawls

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Submitted By cannontyler89
Words 1310
Pages 6
Tyler Cannon
Peter Trumbull
Business Ethics
28 September 2012
Nozick & Rawls When trying to decide how to set up a basic, just society, there are two modern theories; the theories of justice from both John Rawls and Robert Nozick. Each theory has its ups and downs and can both be argued as just, or unjust. John Rawls’ theory starts with the “original position,” in which people make decisions or legislate laws behind what is called a “Veil of Ignorance.” Behind this “veil,” Rawls deprives us of any knowledge of our own attributes under which we know everything we need to about human nature generally, but nothing about ourselves – this includes gender, position, assets, professions, etc. The “veil” allows us to be objective and impartial and choose principles of basic fairness. We choose to lessen the downside of the society as a whole. Rawls uses a thinking experiment in which one puts themselves in a hypothetical reality where one is in the “original position.” Through this, individuals can decide how to set up a society by establishing principles of justice to be governed by. His thought experiment can be translated in a way where if we didn’t know what our positions in society would be, we would be more concerned for everyone equally. Basically, if it is possible for us to be in the least-advantaged status of a society, we will be a lot more concerned for the overall general welfare. If everyone starts off in the same position, it makes agreement between everyone much easier. The “veil” is a way of eliminating bias that makes the “original position” a just way of choosing basic principles. When we put ourselves behind this “veil,” Rawls believes the outcome would be that every individual would act upon their own self-interest. I agree with this theory, although, being completely ignorant has its faults - if one is ignorant to the point in

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