Political liberalism as ideology: a contribution to the critique of John Rawls' theory of justice

Abstract

In the present paper, we intend to consider political liberalism, focusing on John Rawls' theory, as ideology in light of the tradition of thought known as Critical Theory, more specifically the German philosopher Rahel Jaeggi. By taking the formulation of this author as a means of analysis and criticism, we aim to examine the relevance of the idea that liberalism can be considered as a form ideology, given that in there is a difficulty in Rawls’ attempt to put together freedom and equality, insofar as he gives priority to freedom. This priority would frustrate Rawls’ attempt to effect his principles of justice in the basics of society, given that the material inequality makes it impossible to make use of freedom. In order to accomplish this task, we will first present Rawls’ formulation of his principles of justice, with reference exclusively to his book A theory of justice, and we will outline some of the main criticisms directed at him (namely, the criticisms of Habermas and Nozick). Then, we will explore the possibility of revitalizing the notion of ideology critique as a form of immanent critique. Finally, we will explore our proposal of understanding political liberalism as ideology by focusing on the figure of John Rawls and his principles of equality and freedom.