Quote:

            “The original position is, one might say, the appropriate initial status quo, and thus the fundamental agreements reached in it are fair. This explains the propriety of the name ‘justice as fairness’: it conveys the idea that the principles of justices are agreed to in an initial situation that is fair. The name does not mean that the concepts of justice and fairness are the same, any more than the phrase ‘poetry as metaphor’ means that the concepts of poetry and metaphor are the same” (Rawls 11)

 

Comment:

            This quote comes from early on in the section entitled “The Main Idea of the Theory of Justice” where Rawls begins to explain the beginning of justice. He reminds his reader that we are operating under the idea that we are to think of the “original contracts” of society as “the principles that free and rational persons concerned to further their own interests would accept in an initial position of equality” (Rawls 10.) In other words, he is trying to get his readers to understand that justice begins with an original agreement that each member of the society deems fair. He also specifies that members of society are not to reveal their economic, social, or intellectual status so as to ensure the decision process remains fair. The quote above continues this idea of fair beginnings of justice.

            What intrigued me about this section was the idea of ensuring the original contract or the initial situation is “fair.” The concept of fair seems to be very subject to me and I could not help think about a graphic that I have seen in many of my education classes depicting two boys standing on boxes of the same size trying to look over a fence. One boy is able to see because he is taller than the second boy. The caption of the image is “fair is not equal.” The idea that if both boys are to reach the same goal of seeing over the fence the second boy must stand on a bigger box, they are not equal though it is fair. I then would be curious to know what Rawls would think of this idea that fair does not mean equal. Rawls does specify in his quote that justice and fairness are not the same however, he does explain the justice relies on a sense of fairness or sameness. Though I would like to argue that if when creating a justice system for a society everyone is treated exactly the same how is that fair when it is clear that every person is different. I believe that it is for this reason that we see many imbalances in justice systems around the world.

 

Question:

            Is justice fair? In other words, can justice be the same for every member of society?