The natural distribution is neither just nor unjust; nor is it unjust that persons are born into society at some particular position. These are simply natural facts. What is just and unjust is the way that institutions deal with these facts. John Rawls More Quotes by John Rawls More Quotes From John Rawls Properly understood, then, the desire to act justly derives in part from the desire to express most fully what we are or can be, namely free and equal rational beings with the liberty to choose. John Rawls equal liberty desire Religious faith is an important aspect of American culture and a fact of American political life. John Rawls political important religious The good of political life is the good of free and equal citizens recognizing the duty of civility to one another and supporting the institutions of a constitutional regime. John Rawls citizens political life-is Man is a historical being : The realisations of the powers of human individuals living at any one time takes the cooperation of many generations (or even societies) over a long period of time. By contrast with humankind, every individual animal can and does do what for the most part it might do, or what any other of its kind might or can do that lives at the same time. John Rawls animal men funny Many of our most serious conflicts are conflicts within ourselves. Those who suppose their judgements are always consistent are unreflective or dogmatic. John Rawls conflict judgement serious You might say that, if citizens are acting for the right reasons in a constitutional regime, then regardless of their comprehensive doctrines they want every other citizen to have justice. So you might say they're all working together to do one thing, namely to make sure every citizen has justice. Now that's not the only interest they all have, but it's the single thing they're all trying to do. In my language, they've striving toward one single end, the end of justice for all citizens. John Rawls justice-for-all working-together trying There is a divergence between private and social accounting that the market fails to register. One essential task of law and government is to institute the necessary conditions. John Rawls essentials government law Justice is the first virtue of social institutions. John Rawls virtue justice firsts I'm concerned about the survival, historically, of constitutional democracy. John Rawls concerned democracy survival In constant pursuit of money to finance campaigns, the political system is simply unable to function. Its deliberative powers are paralyzed. John Rawls finance campaigns political The fundamental criterion for judging any procedure is the justice of its likely results. John Rawls judging fundamentals justice There are two kinds of comprehensive doctrines, religious and secular. Those of religious faith will say I give a veiled argument for secularism, and the latter will say I give a veiled argument for religion. I deny both. Each side presumes the basic ideas of constitutional democracy, so my suggestion is that we can make our political arguments in terms of public reason. Then we stand on common ground. That's how we can understand each other and cooperate. John Rawls religious two ideas We must choose for others as we have reason to believe they would choose for themselves if they were at the age of reason and deciding rationally. John Rawls age reason believe Clearly when the liberties are left unrestricted they collide with one another. John Rawls collide left liberty An intolerant sect has no right to complain when it is denied an equal liberty... A person's right to complain is limited to principles he acknowledges himself. John Rawls tolerance liberty principles If A were not allowed his better position, B would be even worse off than he is. John Rawls position ifs would-be The idea of public reason isn't about the right answers to all these questions, but about the kinds of reasons that they ought to be answered by. John Rawls kind answers ideas The strength of the claims of formal justice, of obedience to system, clearly depend upon the substantive justice of institutions and the possibilities of their reform. John Rawls obedience reform justice The circumstances of justice may be described as the normal conditions under which human cooperation is both possible and necessary. John Rawls normal justice may I live in a country where 90 or 95 percent of the people profess to be religious, and maybe they are religious, though my experience of religion suggests that very few people are actually religious in more than a conventional sense. John Rawls religious country people
