According to most contemporary theories of justice, justice is overwhelmingly important: John Rawls claims that " Justice is the first virtue of social institutions, as truth is of systems of thought.

In his A Theory of Justice, John Rawls used a social contract argument to show that justice, and especially distributive justice, is a form of fairness: an impartial distribution of goods.

Rawls asks us to imagine ourselves behind a veil of ignorance that denies us all knowledge of our personalities, social statuses, moral characters, wealth, talents and life plans, and then asks what theory of justice we would choose to govern our society when the veil is lifted, if we wanted to do the best that we could for ourselves.

Rawls argues that each of us would reject the utilitarian theory of justice that we should maximize welfare ( see below ) because of the risk that we might turn out to be someone whose own good is sacrificed for greater benefits for others.

Robert Nozick's influential critique of Rawls argues that distributive justice is not a matter of the whole distribution matching an ideal pattern, but of each individual entitlement having the right kind of history.

To emphasise the general principle that justice should rise from the people and not be dictated by the law-making powers of governments, Rawls asserted that, " There is ... a general presumption against imposing legal and other restrictions on conduct without sufficient reason.

" This is support for an unranked set of liberties that reasonable citizens in all states should respect and uphold — to some extent, the list proposed by Rawls matches the normative human rights that have international recognition and direct enforcement in some nation states where the citizens need encouragement to act in a way that fixes a greater degree of equality of outcome.

is: John Rawls

A prominent contemporary theorist of distributive justice is the philosopher John Rawls.

* Tahlequah is featured in the book, Where the Red Fern Grows by Wilson Rawls.

It is worth noting that for many contemporary political philosophers, the rigidity of a particular set of norms, rules, or fixed boundaries about either the way that subjects who would qualify for deliberation are constituted ( a position perhaps epitomized by John Rawls ) or regarding the kinds of argument which qualify as deliberation ( a position perhaps epitomized by Jürgen Habermas ) constitute a foreclosure of deliberation, making it impossible.

The original position is a hypothetical situation developed by American philosopher John Rawls as a thought experiment to replace the imagery of a savage state of nature of prior political philosophers like Thomas Hobbes.

Objections to Rawls ' theory include first, its inability to accommodate conscientious objections to the society's basic appreciation of justice or to emerging moral or ethical principles ( such as respect for the rights of the natural environment ) which are not yet part of it and second, the difficulty of predictably and consistently determining that a majority decision is just or unjust.

Rawls argues that human beings have a " sense of justice " which is both a source of moral judgment and moral motivation.

However, in other writings, Rawls seems to argue that his theory bypasses traditional metaethical questions, including questions of moral epistemology, and is intended instead to serve a practical function.

A Theory of Justice is a work of political philosophy and ethics by John Rawls.

The resultant theory is known as " Justice as Fairness ", from which Rawls derives his two principles of justice: the liberty principle and the difference principle.

Rawls argues that inequality is acceptable only if it is to the advantage of those who are worst-off.

Rawls ' claim in ( a ) is that departures from equality of a list of what he calls primary goods —" things which a rational man wants whatever else he wants " 1971, pg.

An important consequence here, however, is that inequalities can actually be just on Rawls ' view, as long as they are to the benefit of the least well off.

Rawls also offered a criticism of utilitarian approaches to questions of political justice.

Moral constructivists like John Rawls and Christine Korsgaard may also be realists in this minimalist sense ; the latter describes her own position as procedural realism.

Rawls also argues that the representatives in the original position would adopt the maximin rule as their principle for evaluating the choices before them.

John Rawls in his Theory of Justice defines a conscientious objector as an individual prepared to undertake, in public ( and often despite widespread condemnation ), an action of civil disobedience to a legal rule justifying it ( also in public ) by reference to contrary foundational social virtues ( such as justice as liberty or fairness ) and the principles of morality and law derived from them.

The assumptions of the original position, and in particular, the use of maximin reasoning, have also been criticized ( most notably by Kenneth Arrow and John Harsanyi ), with the implication either that Rawls designed the original position to derive the two principles, or that an original position more faithful to its initial purpose would not lead to his favored principles.

Rawls has also emphasized the relatively modest role that maximin plays in his argument: it is " a useful heuristic rule of thumb " given the curious features of choice behind the veil of ignorance.

Rawls also examines the state of nature between nations.

Rawls also wrote the essay of 1985, " Justice as Fairness: Political not Metaphysical ", on the topic.

Hart also had a strong influence on the young John Rawls in the 1950s, when Rawls was a visiting scholar at Oxford shortly after finishing his PhD.

However, Rawls also insists, like Popper, that society has a reasonable right of self-preservation that supersedes the principle of tolerance: " While an intolerant sect does not itself have title to complain of intolerance, its freedom should be restricted only when the tolerant sincerely and with reason believe that their own security and that of the institutions of liberty are in danger.

" Misreading " Durkheim's statement in the context of, as juxtaposed to, or read against, the fundamental assumption of ethnomethodological studies below: " Some leading policies ...", produces an ethnomethodological " respecification " of Durkheim's statement rationale w / a strictly textual reading is also offered ( Rawls / Garfinkel: 2002: 19-22 ; Garfinkel: 2002: 118-119: fn # 46 ).

As characterized by Anne Rawls, speaking for Garfinkel: " If one assumes, as Garfinkel does, that the meaningful, patterned, and orderly character of everyday life is something that people must work to achieve, then one must also assume that they have some methods for doing so ".

There is also a textual link / rationale provided in the literature ( Rawls / Garfinkel: 2002: ppgs. 19-22 ).

Maytag also elected not to renew Rawls ' contract, instead holding open auditions.

" Rawls was also a three-time Grammy-winner, all for Best Male R & B Vocal Performance.

" In 1967, Rawls also performed at the first evening of the Monterey International Pop Music Festival.

Rawls was also a regular guest host on " Jazz Central ", a program aired on the BET Jazz cable channel.

Rawls also appeared in an episode of Baywatch as a bookie.

Rawls was also a guest star during the second season of The Muppet Show.

It was also announced in December 2005 that Rawls was being treated for cancer in both his lungs and brain.

She also appeared on The Lou Rawls Parade of Stars and the March of Dime Telethon.

The production team also worked with Melba Moore, Freddie Jackson, producer Rahni Song and Gloria Gaynor, Teddy Pendergrass, Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes, Gladys Knight, The Jackson 5, James Brown, Stevie Wonder, Lou Rawls, Archie Bell & the Drells, Jerry Bell and The Intruders.

In the 1970s, Curb wrote for and produced Roy Orbison, the Osmond Family, Lou Rawls, Sammy Davis, Jr. and Solomon Burke ; he also signed artists such as the Sylvers, Eric Burdon, War, Richie Havens, the Five Man Electrical Band, Gloria Gaynor, Johnny Bristol, Exile and The Four Seasons.