Research On Changing Direction Of Ralws' Justice Conception

There are a lot of comprehensive and impassioned arguments on A Theory of Justice when it was published in1971 which means western political philosophy's reliving.Most of these focus on the proving method of contract that the Rawls used, and whether the justice principle that he brought forward is significative universally or not.Rawls himself began to know that the "justice as fairness" principle in A Theory of Justice couldn't be recognized by everyone in faith.The justice conception as a comprehensive moral doctrine depends on a Kant's conception of person, then it could reach to a "stability". Especially reasonable pluralism is a permanent characteristic in a constitutional democracy society. Any comprehensive doctrine must use "fact of oppression" to let all the people to receive.Based on the consideration of the "stability" and realization, from the 1980s on, Rawls'theory of justice began to change direction from a comprehensive moral doctrine to political conception of justice.On Rawls'point of view, the changing direction of the justice conception means the non-moralization of politics.The justice conception turns into person's communion conception in case, then it must break away from the comprehensive religious, philosophical, and moral doctrine, and it must be "freestanding", only limit in political field.Thus political conception of justice is"political not metaphysical".For a practical aim,It only to come to"overlapping consensus"among mutual competitive comprehensive doctrines, and obtain the holding of the public reason. If political conception of justice can be the core of the overlapping consensus, it means that the political conception of justice makes all kinds of limits to the permitted living style. That is a priority of right which means the citizen in political field must cooperate with each other in term of some justice principle.Therefore the citizen on the free and equal position made social cooperation items in favor of mutual advantage. When people do such choice, they make a limit in bound for social cooperation, in which individual good conception and special living style will receive the protection from the social system.The non-moralization of politics can receive the explanation from political practice of the constitutional democracy society such as the American judicature independency institution.It would be the communion conception of the constitutional democracy society that the political conception of justice must be "political not metaphysical". For non-involving any comprehensive doctrine, Rawls differentiated between "political culture" and "social culture" at the very start. Only from the beginning of political culture, he searched for the communion conception in democracy social common political civilization tradition, then he used it to make a political conception of justice.Only using American history and constitution tradition, the dipartite rationality of Rawls can be explained. On his opinion, the religious reformation and enlightenment movement formed the especial nature of political civilization in democracy society, that is tolerance and autonomy.Simultaneity, the vital political issues are solved through law in America.Judiciary independence is the most important character in constitutional tradition, which is very significant for the formation of American constitutional and public political cultural spirit. Accordingly, when they put forward the tolerance and autonomy into their own political tradition, the design of American constitutionalism system has the containing social plural culture character. So the political conception of justice that Rawls formed from American political constitutionalism tradition could contain pluralism reasonably. It conquered previous paradox of liberalism and its conflict and contradiction with pluralism.On the opinion of the political liberalism, liberalism and pluralism are comprehensive doctrine which is the result of political liberalism rather than the precondition of political liberalism.The changing direction of Rawls' justice conception has its historic logic.Long before in ancient Greece, Aristotle attempt to differentiate between politics and ethnics, and that renaissant Machiavelli bring forward definitely non-moralization of politics.Recent liberalism scholars mostly used natural law theory and social contract to delimit the political bound, which protected the person's legitimate rights.Since Kant, non-moralization of politics is incarnated by priority of right.Rawls inherited a theoretical principle that Kant showed the social contract as a reasonable conception, based on which he put forward two principle of justice as fairness. But in terms of reasonable pluralism, the justice as fairness as moral doctrine can't become the basis of the whole society, so it must be changed into political conception of justice.Marx considered that the reasonable basis of justice was the history from historical materialism point of view. Marx's justice theory has not only "factual dimensions", but also "normative dimensions".On Marx's point of view, we scan the changing direction of the Rawls' justice conception, then we will find that this changing direction of justice conception has active academic, historic and practical value.Rawls clarified the target of political philosophy and political philosopher through the changing direction of justice conception on the special historic condition. On the same time, he realized the unification between the experimentalism and rational constructivism. On the practical view, Rawls' changing direction of justice conception contains positive elements which are worthy for us to borrow from.However, on Marx's view, Rawls have not gone beyond the bound of political liberation. His changing direction of justice conception is still an interior vindication of constitutional democracy society.