Political Liberalism

Political Liberalism is a 1993 nonfiction book by American philosopher John Rawls. An update to his 1971 work, A Theory of Justice, Rawls argues that his theory of justice is not a comprehensive conception of the good but rather is compatible with a liberal conception of the role of justice—that is, the government should be neutral in competitions between two forces of good. He argues that his two principles of justice form what he calls a “theory of the right,” and as such can be supported by all reasonable individuals even in a pluralistic society. He calls this “overlapping consensus.” Exploring themes of public reason, social welfare, and what makes an idea good, Political Liberalism went on to join Rawls’s earlier works in being considered essential reading in the field of philosophy. It was reissued in 2005 with an expanded introduction focusing on the idea of public reason and remains widely read in philosophy classes today.

In the introduction to Political Liberalism, Rawls addresses what he says are the failings of his earlier works. He has come to realize that his concept of justice as fairness needs refining and that the kind of stability needed in a democratic society with a pluralism of reasonable but differing moral views can’t coexist with a single concept of stability. Originally, he had characterized justice as a reasonable comprehensive doctrine that was incompatible with others. The failure of his conception of justice was that it did not distinguish between two different kinds of moral conceptions—one of a comprehensive moral theory addressing the problem of justice, and one of a political conception of justice independent of a comprehensive theory. This led to his new conception of justice as explained in the follow-up. Rawls argues that a moral theory is comprehensive when it applies to a wide range of subjects and includes conceptions of what is of value in human life, as well as in personal virtue and character. This is different from a political conception that is worked out for a specific subject. The political conception of justice has its basis in ideas from the public political culture, and as such, it is heavily based on one’s own conceptions and politics. However, Rawls’s conception is based on fundamental ideas underpinning a democratic society—that society is a fair system of cooperation over time, that citizens are free and equal, and that society should be well ordered and fair for all.

This has resulted in several changes from Rawls’s previous work. Originally, Rawls not only justified the principles of justice, he specified the political setting that would give rise to the institutions needed for it. However, now he only seeks to show that a specific set of principles is compatible with a democratic society marked by reasonable pluralism. There is also a change in justifying justice as fairness. Now there are two stages—first, it must be shown that it is fully compatible with a democratic society, and it must also be shown to be a freestanding, independent view free of doctrine. Rawls argues that his political conception would be preferred by reasonable people over any other, by introducing the element of an overlapping consensus. This is the idea that all the reasonable opposing views and philosophies would be able to find common ground in this concept. This is because it has its basis in the fundamental principles of a democratic society and because it makes no controversial claims about other reasonable comprehensive views. It is neutral, and as such, Rawls claims his principles of justice would be able to find an overlapping consensus. He contrasts this with another sort of consensus, called the modus vivendi, which is based on mutual self-interest rather than agreement. He argues his conception is far more stable in the long-term.



Rawls’s updated conception of justice has two major principles: First, each person has an equal claim to a fully adequate list of equal basic rights and liberties, which is compatible with each individual. In this way, the equal basic liberties, and only those liberties, are guaranteed their fair value. Second, social and economic inequalities must satisfy two conditions to be compatible. They must be attached to positions and offices open to all under conditions of fair equality of opportunity, and they are to be of the greatest benefit to the least well-off members of society. Under this framework, Rawls presents a full conception of his new formulation of justice with the intention of creating a framework that can exist free of differing political, religious, or cultural perspectives.

John Rawls was an American moral and political philosopher, considered one of the most prominent philosophers in the liberal tradition. Holding some of the most prominent positions in philosophy, including the James Bryant Conant University Professorship at Harvard University and the Fulbright Fellowship at the University of Oxford, he was the recipient of the Schock Prize for Logic and Philosophy and the National Humanities Medal, both in 1999. He was also a Bronze Star recipient for his service and heroism in World War II. He was the author of six major works during his life, with more of his writings published after his death. In addition, he published dozens of articles and contributed to eleven books during his lifetime.