John Locke; Rawls a Theory

John Locke; Rawls a Theory of Justice

The concept of justice and fairness may be understood from different perspectives. Various scholars have advanced theories on how well they believed justice could be given to the people. Theorists such as John Locke and Rawls advance their views on money and justice as shown in this study.

John Locke's monetary theory is one of the earliest theories on money and wealth. Locke advances this theory distinguishing money in terms of its functions. In this case, he looks money as a "counter" used to measure value, and secondly as a "pledge" used in making a claim to services or goods. Locke advances gold and silver, as the appropriate currency of international business transaction. He attributes this to the fact that they are perceived to have equal value to all humanity. This is as opposed to paper money, whose value may depend on the Governments, which print them. Locke further advances on money exchange by countries, where he explains the need for countries to go for favorable balance of trade. In this regard, he argues that countries should constantly enlarge their stocks because the world's stock money increases with time.

Question 2

Rawls thinks that one would not choose the principle of average utility from the original position due to a number of reasons. First, looking at the average principle of utility, it is evident that the best actions are responsible for maximizing average utility available for all individuals. In this case, Rawls thinks that one would not choose this principle because it does not favor the disadvantaged vis-a-vis others when it comes to the acquisition of basic social goods such as wealth, rights, and opportunities. In addition, this principle pushes for redistribution of rights. In this regard, individuals who already have these rights may have even greater advantages, while those who lack will be disadvantaged.

Thirdly, Rawls thinks that one would not choose the principle of average utility from the original position, because of equality that is given by the original position. The original position holds that justice in an ideal society should be guided by the principle opted by everyone if they were in the original position of equality. The equality in this regard refers to the rights and duties of all rational individuals. This would allow the individuals enjoy the equal basic rights and liberties; thus, they would opt for this position.

Question 3