How Rawls Might View Occupy Wall Street

This discussion was brought to my attention on Leiter Reports. It’s an interesting discussion with Joshua Cohen about Rawls’ theory of justice and how it relates to the Occupy Wall Street movement. A colleague of mine (Quentin Gee) notes the following quote by Rawls on his UCSB profile page.

“When politicians are beholden to their constituents for essential campaign funds, and a very unequal distribution of income and wealth obtains in the background culture, with the great wealth being in the control of corporate economic power, is it any wonder that congressional legislation is, in effect, written by lobbyists, and Congress becomes a bargaining chamber in which laws are bought and sold?” – John Rawls, The Law of Peoples

I find this quote apt in light of the Occupy Wall Street movement. I think the Occupy Wall Street movement could better theoretically frame its dialogue in light of Rawls’ political philosophy.