Biomedical Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
a. They are to be of the greatest benefit of the least-advantaged
members of society, consistent with the just savings principle
b.
Offices and positions must be open to all under conditions of fair
equality of opportunity (Rawls 1999).
First rule of priority (priority of liberty): The principles of justice are to
be ranked in a lexical order; hence, the fundamental liberties can only be
restricted for the sake of liberty. Rawls distinguishes two cases:
1. A reduced liberty should strengthen the total system of liberties
shared by all.
2. A less than equal liberty must be acceptable for those with a reduced
freedom.
Second rule of priority (priority of justice over efficiency and welfare): The
second principle of justice is lexically before the principle of efficiency and of
maximizing the sum of advantages, and the principle of equal opportunities
is before the difference principle. There are two cases:
1. An inequality of opportunities must improve the opportunities of
the persons with less opportunities.
2. An excessive savings quote must in general reduce the burden of the
ones bearing these costs (Rawls 2009, p. 321).
It is assumed that all contracting parties have physical needs and psycho-
logical faculties within the normal range, excluding issues of health-care and
intellectual abilities (Rawls 2009, p. 133). Rawls does not postulate indepen-
dent criteria for choosing a concept of justice but considers it necessary that
the contracting individuals choose the optimal concept of justice in the origi-
nal position in which they are covered by the veil of ignorance. The theory
of justice as fairness also presupposes that the contracting parties are in cir-
cumstances of justice, where there are limited resources to be distributed and
conflicts of interest between the contracting parties (Rawls 2009, pp. 162-163).
A number of boundary conditions for the concept of right are distin-
guished. A concept of right is a collection of principles general in form and
universal in application, which must be recognized publicly as the highest
authority for ranking the conflicting claims of moral persons. Principles of
justice are determined on the basis of their special role and the object they
are applicable to (Rawls 2009, p. 167).
13.2.2 Idea of Justice according to Amartya Sen
Amartya Sen is an Indian economist and winner of the Nobel Prize for
Economics in 1998, who builds upon Rawls' theory of justice in a critical
