The Social Contract and its contentious role for Rawls's 'Theory of Justice'

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Seminar paper from the year 2004 in the subject Politics - Political Theory and the History of Ideas Journal, grade: A (85%), University of British Columbia (Department for Political Science), course: Modern Political Thought: John Rawls and his Critics, language: English, abstract: In A Theory of Justice (Rawls, 1971), John Rawls tries to develop a conception of justice that is based on a social contract. His approach, doubtlessly, led to a revival of the contract theory in modern political theory. However, his peculiar conception of a hypothetical contract has also evoked a wave of severe criticism. Some of his critics settle for condemning special features of Rawlss contractual concept, while others maintain that Rawlss theory is, in effect, no real contract theory. In this paper, I will therefore focus on two research questions: Is Rawlss theory a genuine contract theory at all? If yes, does the contract play a crucial role in this theory or is there a preferable alternative available to Rawls?

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