John Rawls: Towards a Just World Order

Political Philosophy Now

by Patrick Hayden

Since the publication of A Theory of Justice (1971), John Rawls has been viewed as one of the most important political theorists of the twentieth century. In John Towards a Just World Order , Patrick Hayden discusses Rawls's views regarding the nature of social justice among states. He examines Rawls's most important writings in order to assess how adequately his theory of justice is able to accommodate claims to universal human rights and shows how Rawls's work can contribute to the construction of a cosmopolitan approach to issues of international justice.

Beginning with Rawls's attempt to develop an account of international justice and human rights that is consistent with his earlier theory of justice as fairness, Hayden then offers a critical examination of Rawls's political philosophy and international thought which argues for a cosmopolitan variation on Rawls's 'law of peoples'. John Towards a Just World Order is a concise and detailed analysis of one of the foremost political philosophers of our time that demonstrates the importance of Rawls's work for contemporary debates regarding international relations, world politics and human rights.

224 pages, Paperback

First published January 28, 2002