ABSTRACT

This review of Catherine Audard’sJohn Rawls offers an insightful critique of her exploration of Rawls’ political philosophy. Audard effectively distills Rawls’ complex ideas, notably his theory of justice as fairness, the original position, and the veil of ignorance, making them accessible to both scholars and general readers. The review highlights her success in contextualizing Rawls’ philosophy within broader ethical, political, and historical debates, particularly in his challenge to utilitarianism and his defense of democratic equality. Audard’s treatment of Rawls’ contributions to modern liberal thought is praised, particularly in presenting his work as a vital alternative to prevailing philosophical doctrines like perfectionism and intuitionism.

However, the review also notes certain limitations in Audard’s analysis, particularly her limited engagement with criticisms of Rawls from alternative political perspectives. While she successfully outlines Rawls’ key principles, such as the difference principle and the notion of justice as fairness, the review suggests that her analysis could be strengthened by a more critical evaluation of how these principles play out in real-world contexts, especially regarding their practical implications for social and economic inequalities. Moreover, Audard’s discussion of Rawls’ theory of political liberalism and pluralism is seen as lacking depth in addressing the challenges of applying Rawlsian justice in a pluralistic society.

Despite these critiques, the review recognizes John Rawls as a significant contribution to the field, offering a comprehensive and accessible introduction to Rawls’ enduring influence on contemporary political philosophy. It remains a critical resource for those interested in the intersection of justice, equality, and democratic theory.

INTRODUCTION

John Rawls is one of the eminent, prudent thinkers with vast experience in writing on multiple political and philosophical issues in the twentieth century. He showed plausible versions of some political and philosophical issues. He had hugely imbibed himself with the subject of philosophy, and that’s why ignoring him will make things incompatible. Criticism and follow-up are both led by great personalities. He led his life as a professor at Harvard. His written book Theory of Justice was hailed worldwide, and only in the United States of America sold more than 300,000 copies. Students from diverse fields like philosophy, politics, economics, law, and so on were interested in his book. He reclaimed political philosophy and social justice fields. Rawls succeeded in understanding the moral sensitivity of post-World War II, distancing himself from utilitarianism and linguistic philosophy. Thus, it is essential to understand the political and cultural context of Rawls’s Theory of Justice.

The author contextualizes new political normality, justice, ethics and politics, democratic impulse, and Rawls’s contribution. In the first section of New Political Normality, the author shows Rawls’s experience in the post-World War II era. The author manifested political morality after the Holocaust, the Nuremberg trials, the anti-Vietnam war, civil rights movements, human rights protection endeavors, and the emergence of NGOs and other amnesty schemes. Rawls fought for equal liberties. He revised the ethical core value of democratic citizenship. The writer has shown Rawls’s concerns for democracy and rights ideals in the section. According to the author, Rawls’s deep understanding of justice was the social and moral virtues of the masses that can regulate their social and political institutions. The writer has explained Rawls’s warning about political decision makers that they were doing the same as was done by entrepreneurs for producing ample production for their benefit. Rawls advocated protecting human rights, liberties, social justice, and democratic social cohesion, achieving conception.

The main idea of justice as fairness was Rawls’s philosophical definition of democratic justice—an alternative to utilitarianism, perfectionism, and intuitionalism to understanding justice and freedom in democracies.