Thirty years of A Theory of Justice

Abstract

With Rawls' project of a theory of justice summarized in two basic principles and the priority of freedom, moral philosophy reemerged as a subject matter worthy of rigorous reflection and able to contribute to the public debate. Rawls presented a rational defence of normative principle of justice capable of public recognition as a moral basis for contemporary democracies. Thirty years after the publication of A Theory of Justice, the following topics and perspectives stand out from Rawls' legacy: the question of justice as a moral-philosophical problem, the reconsideration of classical ideas and authors for contemporary philosophical reflection, philosophy as a reasonable defence of a constitutional, democratic and just order and the top priority that justice has in social cooperation, the idea of the priority of freedom, the relationship between freedom and the market economy, the theme of the stability of a society based on a political conception of justice and the defence of liberalism from a moral perspective and in the current conditions of life. In a sense what Nozick stated on pointing out that after the publication of A Theory of Justice political philosophers should work according to Rawls' theory and if not explain why not, continues to be true.