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2 Pol. Theory 3 (1974)

handle is hein.journals/ptxa2 and id is 1 raw text is: UNDERSTANDING JUSTICE RUSSELL KEAT DAVID MILLER University of Lancaster (England) N A BOOK WHICH HAS BEEN DESCRIBED as the most notable contribution to the tradition of English-speaking political philos- ophy since Sidgwick and Mill, John Rawls (1972) puts forward a theory of justice which has the following three aims: first, to establish certain principles of justice as the rational choice of individuals placed in a hypothetical situajgo in which they are ignorant of their personal qualities and their place in society; second, to show that the principles thus chosen correspond to our considered judgements of justice and injustice; third, to show that these principles can feasibly be adopted as a public conception of justice in a human society. If these aims were realised, Rawls' theory of justice would be more securely grounded than any of its competitors, including the utilitarian theory of Sidgwick and Mill. We do not believe that Rawls succeeds in the tasks which he has set himself, although in the attempt he has made a contribution of permanent value to political philosophy. Unfortunately we must leave aside many of the interesting themes which his book contains, in order to concentrate our attention on its central argument. Political Theory, Vol. 2 No. 1, February 1974, © 1974 Sage Publications, Inc. 131

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