What is a just society? John Rawls, an American political philosopher, argued in his 1971 book "A Theory of Justice," that "a just society is a society that if you knew everything about it, you'd be willing to enter it at a random place."
source: YouTube
Rawls' thought experiment invites us to imagine a just society while pretending we don't know anything about ourselves. We don't know what gender we are, what race we belong to, what social status we have, if we're rich, poor or ruined, if we have physical or mental disabilities; this is what Rawls means when he talks about entering that imagined society at a random place. It stands to reason, and it was Rawls' conclusion, that most people would then imagine a just society to be one with a strong emphasis on social and economical safety nets and a propensity towards "the greater good." Because hey, you don't know if you'll be entering the society as a white, black, male, female, gay, straight, trans, intelligent, mentally impaired, rich or poor person, and you wouldn't want that society to work to your disadvantage.
I like this thought experiment, as it is a practical application of the humanist and socialist ideas of egalitarianism. Sure, literally speaking, "all men are created equal" is nonsensical; we're all different, are we not? But most of us do agree, and Rawls' "veil of ignorance" shows that all people should have equal opportunity to live a life worth living. Researchers at America's National Academy of Sciences found that Veil-of-ignorance reasoning favors the greater good, which is something that shouldn't surprise anyone for the reasons I gave in the preceding paragraph. And I have to say once again that right wing ideology is antithetical to this concept of a just society, for obvious reasons. The below linked video gives a typical right wing libertarian definition of social justice that nicely sums up the general right wing position:
"But let me offer you my definition of social justice: I keep what I earn and you keep what you earn. Do you disagree? Well then tell me how much of what I earn belongs to you - and why?" - Walter Edward Williams
My answer is this: I gladly pay taxes because I'm convinced that without taxation there would be no society at all, let alone a just society. It strikes me as bizarre that those who are most successful in society never seem to realize that they also make most use of everything provided by that society, through taxation. Let's take the most obvious example, Amazon; their delivery services make use of the roads they didn't pay for, they use the U.S. Postal Service, their employees have to apply for food-stamps and other government services because the wages are so low... Amazon and Jeff Bezos haven't earned the wealth they represent by themselves, and the same goes for everyone and anyone. This is simple fact; see how wealthy you become if you're stranded alone on an island. We become wealthy together or we die poor alone. We all stand on the shoulders of our ancestors. So, if you want to hold on to a purely selfish perspective, do so from behind a veil of ignorance and imagine you don't know anything about yourself...
Here's Why I'm NOT a Libertarian
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