Source: A Theory of Justice (1971; 1975; 1999), Chapter I, Section 1, pg. 3-4
Context: Justice is the first virtue of social institutions, as truth is of systems of thought. A theory however elegant and economical must be rejected or revised if it is untrue; likewise laws and institutions no matter how efficient and well-arranged must be reformed or abolished if they are unjust. Each person possesses an inviolability founded on justice that even the welfare of society as a whole cannot override. For this reason justice denies that the loss of freedom for some is made right by a greater good shared by others. It does not allow that the sacrifices imposed on a few are outweighed by the larger sum of advantages enjoyed by many. Therefore in a just society the liberties of equal citizenship are taken as settled; the rights secured by justice are not subject to political bargaining or to the calculus of social interests.
John Rawls: Quotes about justice
John Rawls was American political philosopher. Explore interesting quotes on justice.
Source: A Theory of Justice (1971; 1975; 1999), Chapter I, Section 2, pg. 10
Context: The concept of justice I take to be defined, then, by the role of its principles in assigning rights and duties and in defining the appropriate division of social advantages. A conception of justice is an interpretation of this role.
Source: A Theory of Justice (1971; 1975; 1999), Chapter IX, Section 87, p. 586
Context: I have tried to set forth a theory that enables us to understand and to assess these feelings about the primacy of justice. Justice as fairness is the outcome: it articulates these opinions and supports their general tendency.
“Justice is the first virtue of social institutions, as truth is of systems of thought.”
Source: A Theory of Justice (1971; 1975; 1999), Chapter I, Section 1, pg. 3-4
Context: Justice is the first virtue of social institutions, as truth is of systems of thought. A theory however elegant and economical must be rejected or revised if it is untrue; likewise laws and institutions no matter how efficient and well-arranged must be reformed or abolished if they are unjust. Each person possesses an inviolability founded on justice that even the welfare of society as a whole cannot override. For this reason justice denies that the loss of freedom for some is made right by a greater good shared by others. It does not allow that the sacrifices imposed on a few are outweighed by the larger sum of advantages enjoyed by many. Therefore in a just society the liberties of equal citizenship are taken as settled; the rights secured by justice are not subject to political bargaining or to the calculus of social interests.
“The principles of justice are chosen behind a veil of ignorance.”
Source: A Theory of Justice (1971; 1975; 1999), Chapter I, Section 3, pg. 12
Source: A Theory of Justice (1971; 1975; 1999), Chapter III, Section 28, pg. 171
“In justice as fairness society is interpreted as a cooperative venture for mutual advantage.”
Source: A Theory of Justice (1971; 1975; 1999), Chapter II, Section 14, pg. 84
“The fundamental criterion for judging any procedure is the justice of its likely results.”
Source: A Theory of Justice (1971; 1975; 1999), Chapter IV, Section 37, p. 230
“To each according to his threat advantage does not count as a principle of justice.”
Source: A Theory of Justice (1971; 1975; 1999), Chapter III, Section 24, pg. 141
Source: A Theory of Justice (1971; 1975; 1999), Chapter I, Section 4, p. 21
Source: A Theory of Justice (1971; 1975; 1999), p. 216
“Justice is happiness according to virtue.”
Source: A Theory of Justice (1971; 1975; 1999), Chapter V, Section 48, p. 310
Source: A Theory of Justice (1971; 1975; 1999), Chapter II, Section 10, pg. 58
“An intuitionist conception of justice is, one might say, but half a conception.”
Source: A Theory of Justice (1971; 1975; 1999), Chapter I, Section 8, pg. 41
Source: A Theory of Justice (1971; 1975; 1999), Chapter III, Section 26, pg. 157
Source: A Theory of Justice (1971; 1975; 1999), Chapter III, Section 22, pg. 126
Source: A Theory of Justice (1971; 1975; 1999), Chapter IV, Section 35, p. 218
“Justice as fairness provides what we want.”
Source: A Theory of Justice (1971; 1975; 1999), Chapter III, Section 30, pg. 190