Political Ideologies: Locke and Rawls’ Theorizations of Inequality

Political Liberalism
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Question 1
Rawls thinks that the justice standards will be acknowledged by sensible and logical individuals in their original condition, which has some resemblance to John Locke’s suggested state of nature. However, unlike Locke and other social contract theorists who begin with solid theoretical premises, Rawls bases his whole theory on the assumption with premises chosen and manufactured by himself, which is so weak that it undermines the general legitimacy of his theory. This choice by Rawls ends up being a fundamental departure from early thinkers, but also a flaw in his reasoning that may have catastrophic repercussions because of its prominence.[Rawls, John. Political liberalism. Columbia University Press, 2005.]
Locke and Rawls’ views on equality are likewise diametrically opposed. Rawls’ equality is that persons must be treated poorly to achieve equality in outcomes; Locke’s fairness is that all humans are equal before moral rights. Compared to rights, ...