The demand for freedom and rights in Rawls’ theory of justice; an examination of the growing enthusiasm for social welfare and extreme nationalism in contemporary Western societies.”

Authors

1 Associate Professor of Islamic Philosophy and Theology, Faculty of Theology, Ferdowsi University Mashhad, Iran

2 Associate Professor of Islamic Philosophy and wisdom, Faculty of Humanities, Islamic Azad University, Sabzevar Branch, Iran

3 Ph.D Student of Islamic Philosophy and Wisdom, Islamic Azad University, Sabzevar Branch, Iran

10.22080/jepr.2025.28934.1273

Abstract

With the transformation of the nature of social movements in recent years, from rights-seeking and justice-oriented movements to nationalistic and social welfare-focused movements in Western societies, it appears that John Rawls’ philosophical theory of justice faces a serious challenge in utilizing the tools required to establish justice as fairness. The liberalistic values envisioned by Rawls, which have fully governed Western societies in recent years, have failed to establish his principles of justice, which include the principle of equality and the principle of difference, in a well-ordered society aimed at securing an ever-greater share of primary goods, through the tools of foundational ideas, the most prominent of which are the idea of the original position and decision-making from behind the veil of ignorance, within Western societies. The authors of this article believe that the tools introduced by Rawls for establishing the principles of justice are insufficient; thus, they analyze and critique Rawls’ viewpoint and, in the conclusion section, present an alternative approach to address the impasse of the growing enthusiasm for social welfare against the demand for freedom and rights, as well as to counter extreme nationalism.

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