John Rawls
1921-2002 · Liberalism · Renowned
Rawls was the leading American political philosopher of his century. In A Theory of Justice he asked which rules you would choose for a society if you did not yet know who you would be in it: rich or poor, healthy or sick, of which faith. Behind that veil of ignorance you would guarantee the same basic freedoms for everyone, and allow gaps in wealth only where they leave the worst-off better than equality would.
Signature
The position Rawls is most identified with in the Profiler:
- Polity
- strongly leans Liberalism
- Government
- Representative Democracy
Positions on the 8 axes the sources answer
- Society
- leans Individualism (75 on a 0–100 scale from Collectivism to Individualism)
- Order
- leans Horizontal (75 on a 0–100 scale from Vertical to Horizontal)
- Truth
- mildly leans Objective (67 on a 0–100 scale from Subjective to Objective)
- Polity
- strongly leans Liberalism (92 on a 0–100 scale from Illiberalism to Liberalism)
- Ethics
- leans Means (75 on a 0–100 scale from Ends to Means)
- War
- mildly leans Pacifism (33 on a 0–100 scale from Pacifism to Militarism)
- Conviction
- leans Uncertain (25 on a 0–100 scale from Uncertain to Certain)
- Allegiance
- leans Global (75 on a 0–100 scale from Local to Global)
12 of 20 axes are left blank: the sources do not answer them, or Rawls refused the framing. Nothing is imputed; a blank is not a middling score.
Foundational questions
- Theology
- Atheism
What is your position on the existence and nature of God or gods? - Government
- Representative Democracy
What is your ideal form of government? - Highest Good
- Freedom / Justice
What is the highest good? - Knowledge
- Coherence / Pure Reason
What is the ultimate foundation of knowledge? - Ethics Basis
- Social Contract
What is the ultimate basis of ethics? - Agency
- Libertarian Free Will
What is the nature of human agency and freedom? - Time
- Linear Progressive
What is the fundamental shape of time? - Authority
- Consent of the Governed
What is the legitimate source of authority? - Law
- Social Contract
What is the ultimate source of legitimate law? - Primary Bond
- Humanity
What is your primary bond and loyalty?