John Rawls Quotes on Justice
John Rawls was a 20th-century American political philosopher whose 1971 book A Theory of Justice is the most influential work of political philosophy of the post-war era. This page collects quotes attributed to John Rawls on the topic of justice, drawn from across the philosopher's works.
Quotes
-
Attributed to John Rawls:
“Justice is the first virtue of social institutions, as truth is of systems of thought.”
-
Attributed to John Rawls:
“Each person possesses an inviolability founded on justice that even the welfare of society as a whole cannot override.”
-
Attributed to John Rawls:
“The principles of justice are chosen behind a veil of ignorance.”
-
Attributed to John Rawls:
“Each person is to have an equal right to the most extensive basic liberty compatible with a similar liberty for others.”
-
Attributed to John Rawls:
“Social and economic inequalities are to be arranged so that they are both reasonably expected to be to everyone's advantage, and attached to positions and offices open to all.”
-
Attributed to John Rawls:
“Civil disobedience is a public, nonviolent, conscientious yet political act contrary to law usually done with the aim of bringing about a change in the law or policies of the government.”
-
Attributed to John Rawls:
“Liberty for the less articulate is enhanced by the strict enforcement of equal liberty.”