This article was originally published as: AN EXAMINATION OF RAWLS’ SOCIAL JUSTICE MODEL: AN ITS IMPLICATIONS FOR CONTEMPORARY NIGERIA
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Abstract
So much injustice, oppression, suppression, etc. were prominent among the many ills and short comings which characterized the life of man in the “state-of-nature”. The situation was described aptly by Hobbes when he asserted that “the life of man in the state-of-nature was “nasty, solitary, brutish, poor and short”. He suggested that life in the state-of-nature can literarily be described, in many ramifications, as worthless and meaningless. Life was without any hope for tomorrow because many events were unforeseen and there was no room for history. This was one of the reasons why men decided to abandon the state of nature, which many scholars have christened “the Primitive society”, and create the social society via the apparatus of the “social contract”. The experiences of the two societies have helped analysts reach the conclusion that the civil society (state) is far more preferable than the state-of-nature. The civil society, thus, emerged. Be that as it may, some of the imbalances and imperfections which characterized the state of nature found its way in to the (modern society) state. Among others, two of such problems that found their way were injustice and oppression. The salient question is how did injustice and oppression find their way into the state and how can they be eliminated from the civil society so that there will be no resemblance between the civil society and the state-of-nature? It is against this back drop that this paper is set to examine John Rawls’ theory of justice which is prescribed as an antidote in resolving the problems of injustice and oppression. Nigeria is one of those countries of the world who crave and cry for equal rights and justice, especially in Sub-Saharan Africa, with a view of testing its practicability and effects on the Nigerian social-political environment. A society where no one will feel ill-treated, abandoned, marginalized or neglected as far as the distribution of resources is concerned. Rawls’ postulations have been considered too technical and unrealizable, to this end, this study will show how true or otherwise this position is.
Authors
- MORRIS K.O. EDOGIAWERIE (Igbinedion University, Okada, Edo State)
- INNOCENT O. EKUASE (Igbinedion University, Okada, Edo State)
Keywords
Equality, Oppression, Rawls, Nigeria, Social Justice, Injustice
References
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