Values and Justice A New Perspective

Author(s): Hemant Shah
Publisher: Z_Philosophical_Writings_001802.pdf

Page 18

164
Philosophical Writings
justice as fairness is intended as a political conception of justice. While a political conception of justice is, of course, a moral conception, it is a moral conception worked out for a specific kind of subject, namely, for political, social and economic institutions."22
John Rawls' 'Justice as Fairness' is a political conception in part, it actually, starts from 'within a certain political tradition.' 'It is essential to note that citizens in their personal affairs, or internal life of associations to which they belong are very different from the way the political conceptions involves. Their non- public identity help to organize and give shape to a person's way of life.
In the -year 1995, while writing on 'Fifty Years after Hiroshima', John Rawls answering the question 'was it, perhaps, justified? says bombing of Hiroshima on August 6, was very great wrong. He gives six principles and assumptions in support to his judgement. They are: 1. The aim of a just war waged by a decent democratic
society is a just and lasting peace between peoples, especially with its present enemy. A decent democratic society is fighting against a state that is not democratic. This follows from the fact that democratic people do not wage war against each other (he assumes) In the conduct of war, a democratic society must carefully distinguish three groups: leaders and state's officials, its soldiers, and its civilian population A decent democratic society must respect the human rights of the members of the other side, both civilian and soldiers for two reasons. One, is because they simply have these rights by the law of people. The other reason is to teach enemy soldiers and civilians the content of those rights by example of how they hold in their own case.
3.