The limits of Rawlsian justice

the long version

In A Theory of Justice and Political Liberalism, Rawls set out to prove four major propositions to justify the politics of welfarism; namely, that the institutions of the modern state are compatible with an idea of justice defined by fairness; that political agreement on such an idea is possible; that justice as fairness avoids the pitfalls of utilitarianism and its concomitant reliance on majoritarian views; and that his view of justice is able to promote stability over the long run. In The Limits of Rawlsian Justice political theorist Roberto Alejandro challenges these assumptions. Whereas other opponents of Rawls have attempted to offer an alternative to his concept of justice as fairness, Alejandro instead examines Rawls from within his own writings, testing Rawls's assumptions on the basis of those assumptions themselves. As a result, Alejandro shows that Rawls's idea of justice as fairness is fraught with inner tensions, is exposed to utilitarian dangers, and is far from being the coherent model Rawls promised.