Stefen Soloniuk
Political Science 428
Final Paper
May 15th 2015
John Rawls is the father of the Theory of Justice, an ethical concept that believes
that justice is of the utmost importance and that fairness is the pinnacle of values. Justice
Rawls stipulates is what all-ethical individuals should strive to achieve. Rawls is not
speaking of course of justice for self, but rather justice and fairness for all individuals.
The justice theory theorizes that justice, as fairness is an alternative to the teleological or
utilitarian idea that society should maximize the greatest good for the greatest possible
number of individuals. Rawls’ justice theory demands that this utilitarian idea be taken a
step further and that the greatest good for the greatest number is not enough, he believes
that fairness for all is what must be attained.
While the three main ethical theories differ widely with John Stuart Mills
teleological theory claiming that the ends do justify the means, and that the goal of all
ethical decisions is that the greatest good for the greatest number is what must be
achieved. Immanuel Kant’s deontological theory takes a different approach and is based
upon duty. Kant believes that the ends do not justify the means and that individuals
should always adhere to duty, what a person believes to be right is what that person will
always do in any and all situations. Aristotle believed in the theory of the golden mean, in
what has become a middle ground between the two extremes of teleological ethics and
deontological ethics. The theory of the golden mean emphasizes compromise and allows
that all stakeholders should find this compromise in ethical decision-making.
Rawls philosophical approach however does not ground itself in any of these
three philosophies. Instead Rawls Theory of Justice has become a rallying cry to which
those that believe in a modern day welfare state can rally around as justification for such
a state to come to fruition.
Rawls’ in The Contemporary Discourse divulges a hypothetical situation, which
