The experience of war led Rawls to lose his faith, questioning the existence of divine providence in the face of the Holocaust and personal loss. This loss of faith redirected Rawls from entering the Episcopalian priesthood to focusing on the human project of justice. Rawls believed that justice must be created by people working together, rather than relying on divine intervention. In the turbulent post-war US society, Rawls witnessed major events like the Vietnam War and the civil rights movement, shaping his academic work on justice as a response to the societal quest for clarity and progress.
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss A Theory of Justice by John Rawls (1921 - 2002) which has been called the most influential book in twentieth century political philosophy. It was first published in 1971. Rawls (pictured above) drew on his own experience in WW2 and saw the chance in its aftermath to build a new society, one founded on personal liberty and fair equality of opportunity. While in that just society there could be inequalities, Rawls’ radical idea was that those inequalities must be to the greatest advantage not to the richest but to the worst off.
With
Fabienne Peter
Professor of Philosophy at the University of Warwick
Martin O’Neill
Professor of Political Philosophy at the University of York
And
Jonathan Wolff
The Alfred Landecker Professor of Values and Public Policy at the Blavatnik School of Government, University of Oxford and Fellow of Wolfson College
Producer: Simon Tillotson