Differences And Similarities Between Marx And Rawls

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Zach Altland PHI 330 Cash 15 April 2014 Just Society A just society must secure basic liberties and freedoms and also protect its citizens from exploitation. To understand what this means from a general perspective, one must define each of the terms within the aforementioned statement. However, each of these terms can have a slightly different connotation (depending upon the context it is used). Marx and Rawls have similar, yet different, views on the issues attached to these words. I believe that what Marx means by “just” can be interpreted as a society free from exploited workers. What is freedom to Marx? Freedom is the right and ability of the populace to settle on their choices, in a society that is able to contribute to the complete …show more content…

He uses the tool of a theoretical union, created upon the pretense of an environment of egalitarianism and impartiality so there are no discrepancies in negotiating control. This validates the coercive utilization of political authority because a society would acquire a structure in which all citizens would (among a landscape of liberty) agree to. The two theories I have presented would more than likely benefit the majority of humanity if they were put into place in the correct fashion. There are some striking similarities between Marx and Rawls—I believe that the differences lie in the details and the execution of the laws, regulations, and general theories they propose. Each of them were concerned about the query of what characteristics a just society ought to have, both proposed ideas regarding the best version of humanity, and both believed that the good things in society rely on collective …show more content…

The ideas that the two conjured up can very well be attributed to the economic landscape of the times in which they existed in. If the two had lived in opposing times, perhaps their ideologies would have a different tone. Regardless, I must side with Rawls on the issue of a just society. I do believe that Marx’s ideas were fundamental to the development of an egalitarian view of political power and that his views on the exploitation of the worker did a lot to advance humanity as a whole. However, the application of the theories of Rawls in today’s society just seems to make much more sense to me. Rawls envisions a just society as one in which persons are afforded the largest amount of liberty, assuming that liberty does not interfere with the freedom of other persons. He asserts that economic inequality is only warranted if it is in the interest of the underprivileged constituents of society. These ideas are the central foundation that liberalism is based on. Republicans (in the contemporary sense) would more than likely oppose his ideas, while Democrats would more than likely embrace them. Nevertheless, it seems to me to be a more logical and rational system than that of

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