University of Kansas, Spring 2004
Philosophy 555: Justice and Economic Systems
Ben Eggleston—eggleston@ku.edu

Class notes: Rawls, chapter 4: “Equal Liberty”

The following notes correspond roughly to what we cover, including at least a portion of what I put on the board or the screen, in class. In places they may be more or less comprehensive than what we actually cover in class, and should not be taken as a substitute for your own observations and records of what goes on in class.

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1. § 31: four-stage sequence (with incremental lifting of the veil of ignorance—pp. 175.6–176.2)
   1. original position (p. 172.6)
   2. constitutional convention (p. 172.6)
   3. legislative stage (p. 174.3)
   4. particular cases (p. 175.4)
2. §§ 32–35: liberty of conscience and toleration
   1. one liberty to be restricted only for the sake of another (p. 179.1)
   2. compensation for unequal worth of liberties (p. 179.7)
   3. considerations in favor of liberty of conscience (p. 181.7–8)
   4. toleration except when harms are evident (p. 188.3); contrast with Aquinas (p. 189.4)
   5. requirement of tolerating the intolerant as much as the tolerant (p. 192.3)
3. §§ 36–37: political participation
   1. public support of political campaigns (198.4–199.6)
   2. restrictions on majority rule (p. 201.7)
   3. exchanges within the system of liberties (p. 202.4)
   4. unequal liberties: plural voting as possibly justifiable (p. 204.3)
4. § 38: the rule of law
   1. rule of law’s basis in liberty (pp. 210.4–211.1)
   2. possible infringements on the rule of law, for the sake of liberty (p. 213.3)