The Justification of Human Rights in John Rawls

Abstract

This article presents John Rawls' conception of human rights, seeking to clarify the form of their justification, as well as the role that these rights play in international society and within societies. To this end, I will present the original position and its application in a second level and a comparison with the original position in its first level; I will address some important distinctions in relation to the levels of justification pointing out some differences in the criteria for membership of members in national societies (reasonableness) and in international society (decency); I will present the short list of human rights proposed by Rawls and the main differences with basic freedoms for internal societies; I will discuss some criticisms of the list of human rights, such as its failure to protect the equality of women and supposedly allow exploitation and social exclusion, as well as some interpretations that point out the correctness of Rawls' human rights doctrine.