37 - Common good idea of justice

Summary

In the law of peoples, Rawls holds that every society has a common end it tries to achieve for its members, or a set of special priorities that guide its development as a society (LP 71). Decent peoples seek to realize some comprehensive conception of the good at the societal level. For example, Rawls’s “Kazanistan” has priorities it observes, which include establishing itself as a decent people – speciically as a decent Islamic republic – that respects its religious minorities (LP 75–78). The common good idea of justice puts restrictions on a society’s pursuit of its end or priorities (LP 71).

A society’s end determines whether many opportunities are open to members. Decent societies may have state religions that controlmuch domestic policy (LP 74). Thus, members of the established religion may have privileges denied to others, though no religion is persecuted. In Kazanistan, Islam is the favored religion, so only Muslims can hold important political or judicial positions (LP 75). Nevertheless, Kazanistan may not do just anything in pursuit of its priorities. The common good idea of justice encourages peoples to pursue their ends, but it also assigns basic rights to all of their members (LP 65, 78–81, 38 n.47).