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Brief Lives

John Rawls (1921-2002)

Alistair MacFarlane traces the life of an influential political theorist.

John Rawls was the most important moral and political philosopher of his generation. His greatest book A Theory of Justice (1971) is a classic of political philosophy. It introduced a clear and illuminating way in which to consider the concept of justice: Justice is Fairness. Rawls then spent the rest of his life explaining, developing, and expanding this simple, powerful, and inspiring idea.

John Rawls portrait by Woodrow Cowher, 2017

Early Life

John Bordley Rawls was born on 21 February 1921 in Baltimore, Maryland.

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