Quotation
Last reviewed:
“Justice is the first virtue of social institutions, as truth is of systems of thought.”
John Rawls · Political philosophy · Modern · 1971
What does it mean?
Justice is the first virtue of social institutions, as truth is of systems of thought. Efficiency, wealth, and stability do not outrank it. An unjust institution has already failed in the way a false theory has failed, however elegant it is. A rival reading, utilitarian or purely economic, says this is ceremony: if an injustice makes the totals better, the first virtue is a luxury. He thinks laws and institutions, however efficient, must be reformed or abolished if they are unjust. First virtue does not mean only virtue. He is ordering the criteria.
Did John Rawls really say this?
The library’s label is Well attested. The opening claim of A Theory of Justice, Rawls's own English. He adds that laws and institutions, however efficient, must be reformed or abolished if they are unjust.
Where it comes from
A Theory of Justice, §1
Approximate date: 1971.
How to use it
When a policy in a combined authority is defended as efficient, ask whether the gains are compatible with principles the people affected could accept. He thinks that question comes first, not after the savings are counted. The question can be asked in a budget meeting without pretending the meeting is the original position.
A mindset reading
Ordering the criteria is not a claim that nothing else about institutions matters. Stability and efficiency return in the book. They return as constrained, which is the whole point of calling justice first.
Understand the philosophy
The book proposes two principles, chosen in an original position behind a veil of ignorance. This sentence is the moral stake of that construction. Justice is not, on his account, a luxury good for rich societies.
- justice
- society
- ethics
FAQ
What does it mean?
Justice is the first virtue of social institutions, as truth is of systems of thought. Efficiency, wealth, and stability do not outrank it. An unjust institution has already failed in the way a false theory has failed, however elegant it is. A rival reading, utilitarian or purely economic, says this is ceremony: if an injustice makes the totals better, the first virtue is a luxury. He thinks laws and institutions, however efficient, must be reformed or abolished if they are unjust. First virtue does not mean only virtue. He is ordering the criteria.
Did John Rawls really say this?
Well attested. The opening claim of A Theory of Justice, Rawls's own English. He adds that laws and institutions, however efficient, must be reformed or abolished if they are unjust.
Which work is it in?
A Theory of Justice, §1 Approximate date: 1971.