SEEU Review vol. 5 Nr. 2 (pdf) - South East European University

SEEU Review Volume 5, No. 2, 2009
1971, 6). Inequalities that emerge within these institutions are within the
scope of the principles of social justice. The basic structure of society is
presented as a “closed system” (Rawls, 1971, 8). In addition, it may not
satisfy the required principles for other realms (Rawls, 1971, 9).
In Rawls, liberty is conceived not in terms of capability to do something
that is positive liberty but mainly in terms of freedom from restrictions, that
is, negative conception of freedom (For two concepts of liberty, see Berlin,
1966). Accordingly, so called basic liberties are the political liberties
including freedoms of speech and assembly, liberty of conscience, freedom
of thought and holding property, freedom from arbitrary arrest and seizure in
the context of rule of law. Each citizen has equal basic rights and freedoms
in a just society. This equality for freedoms is provided by the firs principle.
Its priority also insures that the liberties would not be sacrificed by the
greater economic and social advantages. Distributive arrangements of wealth
and authority must be compatible with the liberties and equality of
opportunity (Rawls, 1971, 61). Basic structure distributes certain social
primary goods in the service of society which are in fact the rights, liberties,
powers, opportunities, income and wealth and most importantly the selfrespect
(Rawls, 1971, 63). However, the principles do not point to the
distribution of particular goods to particular persons. They regulate the
institutional arrangements of basic structure. Indeed, it seems that Rawls’
persons or individuals are not the members of a particular social group or
class. The principles are not designed for concrete social relations but for
public sphere institutions located into the basic structure of society.
The expectations for the primary goods of representative men can be
identified by “the index”. Primary goods, natural and social, are necessary
means for the execution of the ends. “The expectation of representative men
are...to be defined by the index of primary social goods available to them”.
The parties in the original position do not know their conception of good, but
know, Rawls assume, that “they prefer more than less primary goods”. This
information is sufficient for them to advance their interests. However, a
construction of index and weighting of the different primary social goods is
a problem. Liberties are equal, but other primary social goods vary. To
Rawls, these goods are the subject of the second principle of justice and
difficulty begins to disappear when, the difference principle, (second clause
of the second principle of justice), is considered. Indexing problem will
relate to the benefits of the least advantaged group (Rawls, 1971, 93).
Actually the solution offered by Rawls is to “establish a publicly
recognized objective measure, that is, a common measure that reasonable
persons can accept” (Rawls, 1971, 95). Justice as fairness does not evaluate
25