Collected Papers: John Rawls Book

John Rawls's work on justice has drawn more commentary and aroused wider attention than any other work of moral or political philosophy in the twentieth century. The secondary literature on his work is enormous and continues to grow in China just as much as in the United States. The public has two major treatises from him, Theory of Justice (1971) and Political Liberalism (1993). It is said that Theory of Justice revived political philosophy in the English-speaking world. There are many questions about social justice, toleration, and the stability of a modern state that seem like they cannot be discussed unless one starts from the ideas of Rawls. But before and after writing his great treatises Rawls produced a steady stream of essays. These essays cannot be seen simply as preliminary expressions of ideas that are more fully worked out in the two major books and of interest, hence, only to archivists of Rawls's thought. Some of these essays articulate distinct views of justice and liberalism from those found in the books. They help identify some of the paths open to liberal theorists of justice and some of the Gordian knots which liberal theorists must seek to untie. Some of the articles tackle issues not addressed in either book. A collection of John Rawls's essays is long overdue. Read More