On the Intellectual History of an Ahistorical Theory
John Rawl’s Theory of Justice in the Discursive Context of History
Abstract
In 1971 with his book A Theory of Justice John Rawls brought forward an epoch-making work of Political Philosophy. Although it has been received in multiple ways and caused a renaissance of Political Theory, it lacks a location in the history of ideas as yet. Therefore, in this article the question is considered to which historical discourses Rawls refers as well as analyzed in what sense Rawls’ work constitutes a position of discourse itself. It is argued that Rawls’ work refers to three discourses. Firstly, it refers to the mediate modern discourse of social contract theories established by Hobbes, Locke, Rousseau, and Kant. Secondly, it refers to the immediate neoliberal discourse of postmodernity. And thirdly, the intermediary discourse of modernity and postmodernity represents the connection between the both first-mentioned discourses. What Rawls does with his Theory of Justice is to transfer the specifically modern justification of the state to his own postmodern time. Rawls’ modifications to the original justification become necessary because the process of postmodern individualization requires a more abstract structure of legitimation.
Keywords
John Rawls | Eine Theorie der Gerechtigkeit | Ideengeschichte | Gesellschaftsvertrag | Thomas Hobbes | John Locke | Jean-Jacques Rousseau | Immanuel Kant | Neoliberalismus | Postmoderne | John Rawls | A Theory of Justice | history of ideas | social contract | Thomas Hobbes | John Locke | Jean-Jacques Rousseau | Immanuel Kant | neoliberalism | postmodernity