On the Inherent Defects in Rawls'Theory of International Justice
Following his proposal of principles of justice within a nation,Rawls explored principles of justice between na-tions in The Law of Peoples.At the international level,Rawls employed the"original position"twice to propose eight principles of international justice and outlined five types of peoples in a universal society.He argued for the theoretical purpose of protect-ing human rights through the"duty of assistance"provided by well-ordered peoples to impoverished countries and"just wars"against outlaw states,aiming ultimately to achieve global peace and stability.However,Rawls'theory has several inherent de-fects.First,while Rawls designates"peoples"as the central subject of his theory,he offers only a cursory description without providing a clear definition of this fundamental concept,leading to ambiguity that undermines the theory's persuasiveness.Sec-ond,Rawls employs the collectivist concept of"peoples"as the theoretical foundation and starting point but adopts the individu-alistic concept of"human rights"as the theoretical objective,resulting in a degree of internal inconsistency within the theory.Third,to gain broader acceptance of The Law of Peoples,Rawls compromises by simplifying the list of basic human rights as the theoretical endpoint,prioritizing peace over justice in his international justice framework.Finally,Rawls'theory of interna-tional justice reflects a typical Western-centric ideology.It remains confined by the historical limitations of liberal political theo-ry,failing to transcend temporal and class-based perspectives in evaluating social issues.
The Law of Peoplesinternational justiceJohn Rawlspeopleshuman rights
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